Fighting Briars
by Realmer06
Summary: Pieces Universe. It's been three years since Scorpius last saw Rose Weasley. When their jobs at the Ministry suddenly throw them into one another's paths again, will they be able to overcome their differences before it's too late? Companion to Among Thorns.
1. Chapter 1

Note from the Author: Hello! As promised, the companion to _Among Thorns_! If you haven't read that one, don't worry. This story stands on its own. For anyone who might be concerned that this will essentially be _Among Thorns_ all over again, don't worry. Some of the scenes will be the same, from a different POV, but there are mostly brand new scenes.

For anyone who followed _Among Thorns_ and was very proud of how quickly it was updated, I'm warning you now not to expect the same thing. That story was already completely written prior to posting -- this one isn't. I won't be updating every day. I'm going to try and update every week, but I am making absolutely no promises on that front -- because then I won't feel bad if life springs up and I have to break them. :)

That being said, I hope you enjoy this story!

Scenes in italics are scenes from the past.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of it, never have, and most likely never will.

* * *

_Fighting Briars_

_With a determined and resolute sigh, the man pressed the ring bearing his family's crest against the molten wax onto the back of the parchment envelope. Once the message had been safely attached to the leg of the family owl, he hesitated only a moment before releasing the bird into the morning sky. With a tap of his wand, he cleaned the ring of the waxy residue and put it away in its case, then closed it once more in the old writing desk until some other loathsome or troubling task required that level of formality. _

_With another sigh, more troubled and pensive this time, he stood in front of the open window of his study, watching the bird fly away to the west until it was little more than a black speck on the horizon. It was done. _

_"Draco?" Draco Malfoy turned to see his wife Astoria standing in the doorway._

_"It's done," he said quietly to her. _

_"The Ridgetons agreed?" she asked, knowing immediately what he meant. Draco nodded, turning back to the window._

_"I just sent our reply." _

_"Then what troubles you?" she asked quietly, crossing to him, laying a hand on his arm. He did not respond. Following his gaze, she looked out the window to where their two-year-old son was playing in the garden with his nurse. As they watched, the nurse shot a number of brightly colored bubbles out of the end of her wand. Scorpius' gurgling laughter filtered through the open window. "You did right, Draco," Astoria said, her voice still soft._

_"I did to him exactly what my father did to me," Draco said in a tight voice, subconsciously rubbing his left forearm. Gently, Astoria took his hand in her own, looking up at him coyly._

_"Are you complaining?" The remark earned a real smile from her husband. _

_"Of course not," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. _

_"It's not as if you've signed his life away," she said softly then. "He can negate the arrangement at any time, and, by the way, so can she. This is just a back-up. So he'll have someone. The Ridgetons are a good family, and completely unconnected with the nonsense of the past. You made the right choice in asking them."_

_"I know," Draco said, but he sounded still slightly unsure. "I only wonder if he'll understand that." _

_"He will," she said with conviction, watching now as young Scorpius toddled awkwardly on his chubby legs, trying to chase the bubbles that refused to be caught. "You are not the man your father was, Draco. Neither are you the man you were during the war. You have worked to distance yourself from your actions. He will not have to face the battles you did."_

_"He will have battles enough because of me, though," Draco said bitterly. "He will have to fight through briars his entire life because of me and the things I did."_

_"Then be glad that today you have ensured that at the end of it, he might have a wife who will not judge him for the things you did," she said with finality. "Come. Let us go celebrate the deal that has been made. For Scorpius and Honoria."_

_"For Scorpius and Honoria," Draco repeated quietly before following his wife out into the garden. _

* * *

"And who can tell me the three main reasons given by Death Eaters under questioning for their involvement in the Second Dark War?"

Twenty-year-old Scorpius Malfoy let the other members of his class provide the answer to the question – fear, power, or pureblood mania – then raised his own hand into the air just as his instructor was turning his back to tap some writing onto the chalkboard. Auror Ron Weasley froze when he saw whose hand was in the hand and gave Scorpius a calculating look. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" he said in a guarded tone.

"It is important to note, sir, that while those may be the three main reasons, they are by no means all of the reasons. Many or even most of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters may have been in the war for reasons of fear, power, or pureblood mania, as my esteemed classmates have suggested, but there were Death Eaters involved for reasons more noble, such as a desire to protect their families or loved ones' lives."

"Such a desire would fall under the category of 'fear,' would it not, Mr. Malfoy?" Auror Weasley asked, crossing his arms.

"To a certain extent, yes, sir," Scorpius conceded. "But we are talking about fear for one's own well-being as opposed to fear for the well-being of others. I think the distinction is an important one."

"Then we shall make it," Auror Weasley said. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy has a valid, if somewhat irrelevant, point. Some became Death Eaters out of necessity, believing such actions to be the only ways to keep their loved ones safe. Voldemort gathered support using any and every method available to him, including the politics of fear, a topic you will all need to be familiar with for next week's examination." A murmur of laughter echoed through the room, making Auror Weasley smile. "Very well, you're all dismissed until after lunch, when you'll report to your training squads."

There was a great uproar then as the twenty or so third-year Auror students hurried to make their way out of the room, all talking and laughing. A few shouted to Scorpius, but he merely exchanged smiles with them and hung back.

When Auror Weasley looked up from cleaning the board to see the classroom empty but for Scorpius Malfoy, he did not seem surprised. "You like to do that, don't you?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Sir?" Scorpius questioned, his tone carefully puzzled but innocent. But Auror Weasley wasn't fooled.

"Throw your father in my face to see if I flinch," he said, a smile playing on his lips. At that, Scorpius could no longer hide the grin that had been threatening to spill out since he had raised his hand to speak.

"And you never do," he said, mimicking his mentor's position. "It's really very disappointing, you know." When Auror Weasley raised an eyebrow, he explained. "Everyone's always talking about this intense hatred between you and my father, yet I can't get you to say a single word against him, though I have been trying for nearly three years."

"I wonder what Draco Malfoy has to say about that," Auror Weasley muttered. Scorpius grinned again.

"He is quite irritated by it because it renders him completely unable to say anything against _you_." Auror Weasley smiled then.

"That's almost worth it," he said, earning a laugh from his student. "Go on! Out with you!" he said then, flapping his hands toward the door. "You've got an hour for lunch, and then you need to be back here, promptly!"

"Aye, sir!" Scorpius said, giving his mentor a mock salute and slipping out the door.

Three years ago, when he'd been admitted to the program, he'd been assigned to Auror Ron Weasley's squad of four Aurors-in-training. At the time, he'd had a strong aversion to the assignment for a variety of reasons, strong enough to go to the Head Auror, Harry Potter, and request a change. Luckily, Auror Potter had convinced him to stick with Auror Weasley, and indeed, partially through his determination to succeed on his own merit and partly through his dedication and hard work, he had won the Auror's respect, and the two of them had even begun to develop a kind of friendship, born out of the strong mentor/student relationship they shared.

Scorpius mused on all of this as he headed out of the Auror's Wing. Lost in thought, he was only jerked out of his musings when, upon rounding a corner, he ran straight into someone coming around from the other side.

In a flurry of parchment scrolls and the clatter of a wand on the hallway floor, a young lady went flying to the floor. Mortified, Scorpius immediately knelt and began picking up scrolls, offering a hasty apology, even as she did the same.

"Merlin, I'm so sorry, I –"

"No, it was my fault, I –"

"– wasn't watching where I was going –"

"– wasn't really paying attention –"

"– just in a hurry, it's my first day –"

"– hope you're all right?"

"Yes, thank you," she said softly. There were two scrolls left on the ground. He picked one up and reached for the other, at the same time that the girl did, but Scorpius got there first. Picking it up, he handed it to her with a smile, really getting a good look at her for the first time.

He almost dropped the scroll. There, kneeling on the ground beside him, staring up at him, was Rose Weasley. He felt the smile slide off his face, and some detached corner of his mind wondering what must be showing across his face.

"Scorpius . . ." she whispered. She looked stunned to see him. Wordlessly, he stood and offered her his free hand and helped her to her feet.

Realizing belatedly that he should probably say something, he cast around desperately for something _to_ say. Unfortunately, their last meeting was all that rose to the front of his mind, and he was hardly going to mention _that_. "Rose Weasley," he said, carefully guarding his tone. "Of all the people to . . . it's been –"

"Three years," she finished for him. He stared at her, trying to sort out his thoughts. He _knew_ she wasn't supposed to be here.

"Al said you were traveling the world?" he said by way of asking her what she was doing down the corridor to the Auror classrooms and offices.

"Oh, I, uh, yes," was her less than coherent reply. She looked very flustered, and didn't seem to want to meet his eye. "With Ivanna Krum, a friend of mine. We, uh, took an extended World Tour."

"And now you're working at the Ministry?" he asked. He needed to know if running into her was going to be a common occurrence.

She swallowed and nodded. "In the International Liaison's Office," she said. "I'm interning there."

He shook his head, a small grin springing up on his face before he could stop it. Some things, it seemed, never changed. "That's a competitive program. You always did have to be the best, yeah?" Then he remembered their last meeting again and why things could never be the way they had been before, because of what she'd done. His grin halted on his face before it had truly formed. The moment grew awkward. One glance at her told him that she was remembering the same things he was. _Though not_, he thought bitterly, _that she's showing much regret_. "Well," he said with a clearing of his throat. "You're obviously headed somewhere, so I'll let you –"

"What are you doing down here?" The question came out in a rush, as if she hadn't really meant to say it. It was followed immediately by a reddening of her face. His eyebrows shot up, though since she wasn't making eye contact, she probably didn't see.

"I'm, uh, in the Auror program," he said. "Just finishing my final year. I'm surprised Al didn't tell you." _Or your dad, for that matter_, he finished in his head. She really hadn't known?

"Oh, well, I, uh, haven't really had a lot of time to chat in the past three years," she muttered toward the floor. His eyes narrowed. 'Chatting' aside, this was big enough news to have made it to her. Something else was afoot here, and Scorpius felt a lump of anger rise in his throat at what had happened the _last_ time something concerning Rose had been 'afoot.'

"I understand," he said, not quite managing to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Well, I should get back to work," she said softly after a pause.

"Yeah," he said, the edge not going away. "Yeah, me too." He realized his still had one of her scrolls. Awkwardly, he held it out to her. She took it from him, meeting his eyes for one fleeting moment.

And suddenly, he _needed_ to get away from her, to get out of her presence. He stepped to the side to let her pass just as she stepped to the same side. Once again, they danced around each other before he managed to slip past her with a tight smile and disappear around the corner.

He hurried up a small flight of stairs, not realizing until he had reached the top that his hands were clenched into fists. With one deep breath, he forced himself to relax and attempted to release the anger that had welled up rapidly in him at the sight of her.

It seemed three years away from her hadn't really done a thing.

* * *

____

Eleven-year-old Scorpius sat quietly, resting his head against the velvet covered wall of the train compartment, watching the countryside stream past. For nearly the first time since the train ride had started hours before, the compartment was silent. His companions were as silent and lost in thought as he himself was.

Two days ago, he would have been hard pressed to believe that this was how this day would be ending. Two days ago, his father had taken him aside "to explain some things." If Scorpius had been hoping that this talk would include some helpful advice or some real explanations about some of the questions he had – like why they never saw Grandfather Lucius anymore or why his father never seemed to like being in public – he was sorely disappointed. The explanation from his father had mostly only talked about the Swearing Ceremony he and Honoria had undergone a few days before and its importance, which was followed by a short and somewhat cryptic warning that he might encounter some people at Hogwarts who would be unfriendly to him, and that he was advised to simply avoid these people if at all possible.

His father had never mentioned the Potters or the Weasleys by name, but it didn't take much beyond the tightening of his father's hands on his shoulders at the station for Scorpius to know who he had been talking about. The only other thing like advice he had received had come just before he climbed onto the train when he father said, very quietly into his ear, "Always remember, Scorpius. You are a Malfoy. You know what it means. You are a Malfoy." That was it.

So when a Potter and a Weasley had shown up in his compartment, asking to share it, Scorpius' shock had been great indeed. It had grown even greater when he had been shown very forcefully by Rose Weasley that his father's suggestion of trying to avoid unpleasantries wasn't going to work.

But the greatest surprise of all had come in realizing how well he was able to talk to Rose and Al, how well the three of them got along, and how much they had in common. Scorpius hadn't spent much time around kids his own age, except for Honoria, and even her he only saw once or twice a year. His father had wanted to keep him away from the children of his former acquaintances – another question Scorpius had never gotten answered.

You are a Malfoy. You know what it means.

_But he didn't. __Not really. He'd thought, as he'd boarded the train, that it didn't matter, that he didn't have to think about it or puzzle it out now. But that had changed the minute Al and Rose had appeared and decided to be his friends._

_His _friends_. He had _friends_. And they weren't even at Hogwarts yet. But they presented a problem. They were a Potter and a Weasley, shoe-ins for Gryffindor if he'd ever met any. And he was Malfoy. He may not have known exactly what that meant, but one thing he knew for_ sure _was that it meant Slytherin. And he also knew that while the animosity that had existed between those two houses while his father was at school was nowhere near as intense now, it was still relatively unlikely that people Sorted into those two Houses would retain a close friendship._

__

It was only a few moments later that Rose, as if she'd been reading his mind, spoke up softly. "Where do you think you'll end up?"

_Though he'd heard the words, looking across the compartment at her, he couldn't be completely sure she'd actually spoken. She hadn't changed her position at all. She was still sitting cross-legged on the seat across from him, her eyes downcast, her hands playing with the end of her long dark red plait. _

_Quickly, Scorpius glanced at Al, who was sitting beside him, but Al's attention never wavered from his book. He looked back to Rose, and now she was watching him, meeting his eyes, and her hands had stilled, the braid slipping through her fingers to rest against her shoulder. She held his gaze and waited for her answer, looking as hesitant and uneasy as he felt._

_Shrugging hesitantly, his insides squirming uncomfortably, he broke her gaze and stared resolutely at the carpet. "Slytherin, I expect," he said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Al's book lower the slightest fraction._

_"Why?" Rose asked, and he risked glancing up. She had her head tilted to one side, considering him._

_"I'm a Malfoy," he said simply. She looked down, looking disappointed and a little upset._

_"Yes," she said softly. "And I'm a Weasley." There was silence for a long time."So . . . what does that mean for us?" Rose asked hesitantly. Scorpius felt the question settle heavily in his stomach. Al had returned to his book, but eyes weren't moving, and there was a frown on his face._

_"I don't know," he said helplessly._

_"What if it wasn't about that?" Al said, speaking for the first time. Scorpius and Rose both turned to look at him._

_"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, confused._

_"Forget tradition and family and all that," Al said. "If you could _choose_. Where would you go?" The question caught Scorpius off-guard. He'd never really thought about it. He'd spent so long assuming he'd automatically go into the House of his family. He'd always been uncomfortable with the idea, but he'd always assumed that was just something he'd have to live with. Al's attention was focused on his cousin. "I know you, Rose. You wouldn't choose Gryffindor."_

_"No," she said, almost impatiently. "But what does it matter, Al, what I would choose? I'm a Weasley. That means I'm a Gryffindor. Scorpius is a Malfoy. That means he's a Slytherin."_

_"Just answer the question, Rose," Al insisted. She rolled her eyes, but uneasily answered the question. _

_"I guess . . . I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw," she said carefully, and once the words were out of her mouth, Scorpius knew he agreed with her. He had never been confident in his ambition or his bravery or his loyalty, but he had _always_ been confident in his mind and his ability to think through a problem. _

_"Ravenclaw's where _I'd_ want to end up," Al said with conviction, which gave Scorpius enough confidence to nod and say, "Me, too."_

_"See?" Al said with a grin. "We could all end up in the same place, and then it'd be easy to keep being friends." But Rose wasn't convinced._

_"But it doesn't matter what we want, Al," she pointed out, frowning. "No Weasley, or Potter for that matter, has been anywhere besides Gryffindor for generations."_

_"Same with the Malfoys and Slytherin," Scorpius added, but Al dismissed their protests with an impatient wave of his hand, then leaned in conspiratorially, beckoning each of them closer with a finger. With a bemused look shared with Rose, they complied._

_"My dad said the Hat takes your choice into consideration," Al whispered as if with this piece of knowledge, he had just solved all their problems. Rose fixed her cousin with a withering gaze._

_"Al, why should the Hat care what _we_ want? We're _eleven years old_." Scorpius thought she had a rather good point. _

_"Why shouldn't it?" Al shot back. "What are you going to do? Just let it put you in Gryffindor? You're _terrified _of Gryffindor!"_

_"I am not!" Rose yelled, crossing her arms angrily. "I just think it would be the easier choice in the long run."_

_"So you _would_ choose Gryffindor?" Al challenged. Rose colored angrily._

_"I didn't say that," she said pointedly. _

_"Well, I don't see what it can hurt to at least _try_," Al said to both of them. Rose didn't say anything in response, but Scorpius could tell she was upset by the idea, and he knew that it was likely both the thought of being in her family's House and _not_ being there._

_"I just want to be in the same House with one or both of you," Scorpius said quietly. "I don't much care where that is."_

_And for the remainder of the trip, he tried to believe that. By the time the train reached it's destination, though, all he was convinced of was that he, whatever he personally might want, was headed for Slytherin. Rose was right. It would just be easier. _

_It was with that calming thought that he walked to the front of the Great Hall a few hours later and sat on the stool as the Hat slid down over his eyes._

I am a Malfoy_, he thought as the Hat muttered into his ear. _And tonight I'll be able to write to Father and tell him I was Sorted into –

_"RAVENCLAW!" _

* * *

Frowning deeply, Scorpius squinted against the bright sunlight and scanned the crowd of people eating outside The Leaky Cauldron, looking for his best friend. Last night, he'd gotten an owl from Al, inviting him to lunch today, but now that he was here, Al was nowhere to be seen.

There was, however, someone that Scorpius knew present outside the pub. Rose Weasley was sitting at a table by herself, reading a book. There was only a glass of lemonade on the table in front of her. As Scorpius watched, she looked up from her book, scanned the crowd, then sighed and checked her watch. Then, a look of annoyance on her face, she went back to her reading.

Just then someone jostled against Scorpius' shoulder, and he realized belatedly that he'd been standing without moving in the middle of the street. Looking once more at Rose, he sighed heavily and realized there was no help for it. He would have to approach her. She and Al were close; she might have some idea where he was.

He hadn't seen her since their encounter at the Ministry at the beginning of the week, but he hadn't been able to forget about her, and he had been more aware than ever that his trainer was her father and his supervisor was her uncle and his best friend was her cousin. It didn't matter where he went. Since she had come back from her Tour, he hadn't seemed to be able to escape her.

He unclenched his fists, not remembering when he had tensed them in the first place. Cursing silently, he forced himself to relax, irritated that the prospect of approaching her had such an affect on him. He was determined to get past this. He would be polite, he would be civil, he would be detached. He was making a simple inquiry; that was all.

He squeezed through the crowd until he came up behind her chair. "Rose," he said calmly. She jumped in surprise and managed to shut her finger in her book. Scorpius deliberately ignored this.

"Scorpius," she said, turning to look up at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Her tone rankled somewhere in the back of his mind. She sound stiff, like _she_ was determined to be civil and polite, trying not to be angry with _him_. In Scorpius' mind, she had given up the right to be angry with him three years ago.

_Polite. Detached_, he reminded himself before he spoke. "I'm supposed to be meeting Al for lunch," he said formally. "He said to meet him here, but I haven't seen any sign of him." Much to Scorpius' bewilderment, her eyes narrowed in irritation.

Her next words cleared up his confusion. "That's odd, because Al also told _me_ to meet him here." She glared then, in the direction of St. Mungo's, and Scorpius understood. Fighting rising irritation of his own, he slipped into the vacant seat beside her.

"Ah, so, he isn't late, but rather, 'late,'" he said, punctuating his last word with air quotes.

She nodded, her eyes blazing. "My cousin is doing what he does best," she growled. "_Meddling_." For a moment, Scorpius pitied Al. He and Rose had often sighed in mutual irritation over Al's escapades. For a moment, they might have been back there again. How many times during school had he seen that look on Rose's face, knowing what would follow . . .

But the moment soon passed as Scorpius painfully remembered that this Rose was not that Rose, that something had changed in her, and she was not the person he had thought he knew.

The silence that descended on them then was, at first, awkward, but within a few moments, it had grown heavy and oppressive. As he glanced sidelong at her, Scorpius could see that Rose looked as uncomfortable as he felt. For a moment, he allowed himself to gain vindictive pleasure from her discomfort, but then his conscious kicked in. It was he who had inflicted this particular discomfort on the both of him.

Feeling the need to break the silence, Scorpius said the first thing that came to mind. "So, how was your first week?"

"Good," she said shortly. "I'm – really enjoying it."

"Good, that's, uh . . . that's good," was his response, and then he was out of things to say. He would kill Al for this, he really would. It was bad enough simply _knowing_ she was back in England, for it meant that he was suddenly unable to keep himself from thinking of her every day instead of every week. Now Al was going out of his way to push them together, not knowing anything of the circumstances that had forced them apart in the first place.

He was on the verge of excusing himself, as much to get away from his conflicting emotions as anything else, when she spoke.

"Tell me about your fiancé," she said. The question caught him off guard.

"What?" he asked dumbly, shocked.

"Your fiancé," she repeated carefully. "Al said you were getting married."

"I'm not," was his immediate response. Rose arched an eyebrow.

"So there isn't going to be a Bonding Ceremony this summer?" Scorpius colored and looked away.

"Oh, that. Well, yes, there is, I suppose," he said awkwardly. He cursed Al mentally. His best friend would be receiving a serious piece of his mind the next time Scorpius encountered him.

"So, tell me about the girl. What's her name?" Rose asked. There was nothing Scorpius could do except answer as simply as possible.

"Honoria," he said carefully. "Honoria Ridgeton."

"She's from England?" was the next question.

"Wales," Scorpius answered, watching her somewhat warily. There was an edge to her voice that he couldn't make sense of. She didn't sound irritated or angry, but he knew there was something behind these questions.

"Ah, so she didn't go to Hogwarts then."

"No, she was – educated at a small school in Wales," Scorpius said, frowning slightly. "You should meet her though; you'd like her." He almost flinched. The last thing he wanted to do was introduce Rose and Honoria.

But clearly, for other reasons, that had been the wrong thing to say.

"It's a wonder I've never heard you mention her before," she said, and the edge was definitely there this time. "I mean, since this has been something you've known about for at least eighteen years, and I've known you ten of those." Scorpius cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable. _I told Rose about Honoria at some point, didn't I? _he thought sheepishly.

The look on her face brought him back to the moment. She looked angry now, and he couldn't understand it. He met her eyes with a mixture of bewilderment and anger of his own. This had been _her_ choice, not his!

"Rose, is there a problem?" he asked her, setting his face in a hard line. She looked away, all traces of anger gone now, replaced by embarrassment.

"Sorry," she muttered. "It just . . . it came as a real shock," she muttered, and it _galled_ him that she was _actually_ sitting there being irritated with him for not telling her about Honoria when _she_ was the one who had been responsible for what had happened between them, and _she_ was the one who had left on a trip around the world.

"Well, you've been a little out of touch for the past three years," he pointed out. "A few things here and there were bound to escape your notice."

"This wasn't just the past three years, though, Scorpius," she said, her voice coming out a little strained. She looked up to meet his gaze. "I should have found out from you," she said quietly. "Not Al." For just a moment, she was the old Rose again, and he was the old Scorpius, and in that moment, he knew that, about this, she was right. He should have told her, and Al, about Honoria and the Bonding years ago. She didn't give him much time to dwell on this, though, before speaking again, changing the subject. "He wanted to know what had ever happened between – you and me," she said.

Scorpius stiffened in his seat at that, his mind spinning, on edge and wary. Why was she bringing this up now?

"He didn't believe me when I told him nothing had," she said, looking away. "Probably what today is all about. You know Al." She glanced up at him, trying to smile but not quite succeeding. He regarded her silently, carefully keeping his face guarded, considering what to say very carefully.

"You said no, Rose," Scorpius said very softly, keeping his voice as guarded as his face. He didn't want to accuse her of anything out here in the open, but it sounded like she needed reminding of that afternoon. "That's what happened."

The tension between them was almost tangible when she raised her eyes and met his. Everything seemed to freeze, and Scorpius was taunt, every muscle tense, as he waited for her to speak. He had an inexplicable feeling that they were precariously balanced on the edge of something drastically important. He wondered vaguely which way things were about to fall.

He never got the chance to find out. "Ah, good! You're both here," called an overly enthusiastic voice from the street. Scorpius closed his eyes in irritation before turning in the direction of his best friend. "Sorry I'm late," Al was saying. "Things got backed up at Mungo's." Scorpius had a hard time holding back a look of disgusted disbelief. Al didn't really think they were that stupid, did he? "Shall we order, then?"

"Actually, no," he said quickly, getting to his feet. He didn't quite trust himself to stick around. "I don't get a very long lunch break, Al, and I need to be getting back. We'll have to do this some other time." And with a tight smile, he walked away from them without a glance back.

He cursed Al twice over as he walked away. First for arranging that horrible meeting in the first place, and the second for having such awful timing at the end of it.

Rose had been on the verge of saying something big, he knew. Whether it would have been some sort of apology or explanation or something completely unimportant, he would know probably never know.

He wasn't saying that he would have forgiven her – some things went past forgiveness – but he might at least have been able to regain the peace of mind that her reappearance had robbed from him.

* * *

To be continued . . .

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Note from the Author: Sorry about the wait! I'm going to try and have the next chapter posted by next Tuesday, before I leave for vacation, but again, I'm making no promises!

I feel like I've given Al a bad rap in these stories, and I know I've gotten a lot of comments about how annoying he is and how he seems to constantly be at odds with Rose and Scorpius, and I feel bad about that, because that's not how I see him at all! Just, in this particular story, he is meddling where he probably shouldn't be, and so there is a lot of conflict, but honestly, he's a good guy! I'm probably going to end up letting him tell his own story soon as this is done, if only to allow him to regain some dignity! :)

Also, sorry for all the angst! It does seem to be running rampant in this chapter! Chalk it up to the fact that I'm currently rereading Order of the Phoenix and Harry's angst is rubbing off on my writing!

Also, this chapter is nearly as long as Among Thorns in its entirety. Sigh . . . I really must work on that verbose tendency . . . :)

Scenes in italics are scenes from the past.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of it, never have, and most likely never will.

* * *

_Fighting Briars - Chapter Two_

_It took fifteen-year-old Scorpius a full forty-five minutes to escape his parents and their well-meaning discussion of his career options, and if the Ridgetons hadn't been coming over for dinner that night, he probably would have been stuck longer._

_But it was with a smile that Scorpius bounded up the stairs to his room to begin getting ready for the company. He hadn't expected anything less from his parents over the Christmas holiday of his fifth year. In fact, he'd spent the last few weeks of term using both Rose and Al for practice. At completely unpredictable moments, one of them would spring the question on him and force him to answer coherently and convincingly while they did their best impression of one or both of his parents._

_Both Rose and Al were one hundred percent behind his decision to go into teaching. Now he had to get his parents behind the idea, and then he had to spend the next two years convincing everyone that teaching was, indeed, what he wanted to do, while at the same time preparing to submit an application to the Auror Program. Becoming an Auror was his secret dream – the one he had told only one other person – Professor Flitwick, who would be helping him plan the next two years, both his actual plan and his cover._

_He hated deceiving everyone, but he hated even more the idea of everyone knowing what he wanted to do, and then being denied acceptance into the program for whatever reason._

_But that was two years away. His focus now needed to be on tonight – and his first face to face meeting with Honoria since they'd been Sworn four and a half years earlier. Taking a deep breath, he shed his everyday robes and debated whether or not to dress up underneath as well as putting on his formal dress robes._

_"What do you think?" he asked the mirror hanging on the wall._

_"Very handsome, Master Malfoy," it said in response. Scorpius laughed and rolled his eyes._

_"Thanks," he said sardonically, reaching for the formal dark blue robes he'd laid out earlier. The dress robes had been a gift from his parents at the beginning of the year as a congratulatory gift for getting named Prefect – and his mother informed him that getting them in Ravenclaw colors had been his father's idea._

_He had started to fasten them when he heard Rose Weasley's voice._

_"Scorpius?" Frowning with puzzled amusement, Scorpius looked around his room for the source of her voice. "Scorpius, are you there? Where the – oh, for the love of –" Her voice came louder then, sounding both exasperated and amused. "You've left it in the bottom of your trunk again, haven't you? SCORPIUS!" she shouted as Scorpius hurriedly crossed the room and lifted the lid of his trunk. There, looking up at him from a small window of glass was Rose's face. "Hey there," she said. He grinned. _

_"Sorry," he said, lifting his two-way mirror out of his trunk. The mirrors had been a gift from Al two Christmases before. They each had one. He carried his over to his desk and propped it up against a pile of books while he continued to get ready._

_"So, did you tell them?" she asked. He smiled with one half of his mouth._

_"Yeah," he said, checking his reflection in the mirror on the wall._

_"And? How'd they take it?" she asked impatiently._

_"Hard to tell with them," he said, summoning a comb from across the room and running it through his hair. "I think they were coming around to it, though."_

_"Good," she said. There was a pause, then she said, "What _are_ you doing?" _

_"Company," he said by way of answering, moving his head back and forth to check his hair from all angles._

_"Yeah, I gathered, but is it dinner or a gala?" He smirked and glanced toward her._

_"Formal company," he clarified, sending the comb back across the room._

_Rose muttered something that sounded like, "Crazy purebloods," but before he could do more than grin, she had spoken up again. "What did they _want _you to do?"_

_Scorpius shrugged as he began to search for his shoes. "I'm not really sure. Dad was bringing up some contacts he had in the Ministry if I didn't want something as 'demanding' as teaching, but I don't know that he _wants _anything in particular. He's really careful to avoid pushing one thing over another."_

_"Yeah, but what does he think of you teaching in specific?" she insisted._

_"Merlin, Rose, _I _don't know!" he said, slightly exasperated. "Between being so terrified of turning out like Grandfather Lucius and being terrified that I'm going to turn around and start blaming him for what some people think of our family, he gets a little distant when talk turns to things like this. I have no idea what he thinks of me teaching or me being friends with you or me being a Ravenclaw!" He sat heavily in the chair by his desk. He sighed, rubbing his face. "Sorry," he muttered, but she only shrugged._

_"No, I understand," she said, and he knew she did. "I don't talk about that stuff with my dad, either." They lapsed into silence, and Scorpius sat idle, thinking about it all for a few moments before remembering what he was supposed to be doing. "Your shoes are over in the corner by the door, where you _always _leave them," she told him as an afterthought. He turned. She was right. _

_"I can't be thinking about this right now," he muttered, Summoning the dress shoes and catching them deftly._

_"Did I ever tell you how I got myself put into Ravenclaw?" Rose asked in an obvious effort to distract him. Scorpius took it gratefully._

_"By being a freaking genius?" he asked, only halfway kidding. She pulled a face at him._

_"No," she said with great dignity. "It's really Al's fault."_

_"What did you do?" he asked, a smile pulling at his lips as he worked his heel past the stiff leather._

_"I tried to reason with the Hat," she admitted. Scorpius felt his eyebrows rise. Rose laughed. "I did!" she said. "I tried to tell it that because I _wanted_ to be put into Ravenclaw, a decision that would mean breaking tradition and facing the potential wrath of my family, I_ clearly_ had enough bravery to merit being placed in Gryffindor."_

_"And what did the Hat say?" Scorpius asked around a laugh, propping his foot on the edge of his desk to tie the laces._

_"Told me I'd proven where I ought to be and then stuck me with you and Al," Rose said, grinning._

_"Only you, Weasley," Scorpius said._

_"Yeah, probably," she replied wryly. She grew silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "Do you ever regret being a Ravenclaw, Scorpius?" Scorpius considered the question for a moment, then shook his head._

_"No," he said seriously. "No other House would have suited me. My only regret is not knowing what my dad _really _thinks about it. I wish –" He hesitated for a moment then, but if he couldn't tell Rose, who could he tell? "I wish I could talk to him the way you talk to yours," he admitted. _

_"It helps that my dad doesn't feel responsible for an entire war," she said, her voice soft and serious. They shared a smile then, and Scorpius was on the verge of thanking her when a voice called out, "Rosie!" Rose jumped and glanced over her shoulder._

_"I've got to go," she said in apology. Scorpius waved it away._

_"Yeah, me too," he said, standing. "How do I look?" he asked. Rose rolled her eyes._

_"Like a smarmy prat," she said. He grinned and headed for the door. Have fun at your gala," she called._

_"It's a private dinner," he corrected._

_"Whatever!" With another grin, he left his room and headed downstairs to receive the Ridgetons. Unfortunately, the grin didn't last long._

_He had not seen Honoria Ridgeton in four and a half years, and he was now very aware of what he had only been vaguely aware of then – in six short years, he might find himself married to this woman. That knowledge made for a very awkward evening._

_They'd had fairly regular conversations as children, but around the time they had both started school, their contact with one another had dwindled to the occasional, sporadic letter, full of stilted and formal inquiries of studies and classes as opposed to any real efforts to get to know one another._

_The result was just what one might think – at the age of fifteen, they _didn't _know one another. And it was obvious throughout their attempts at conversation the entire evening. Luckily, one thing they did have in common was a mutual desire to not thoroughly embarrass themselves in front of their parents, so they were able to keep their awkward attempts at conversation to the private paths of the extensive gardens magically enchanted to be comfortable even in December._

Marriage. _He was going to have to _marry_ Honoria Ridgeton in six years. _Well, no, _he thought. _Only if you don't find someone else_. __He desperately wanted to be able to _talk_ to someone about this, and under any other circumstances, he'd have contacted Al or Rose and talked to them. But somehow, in the five years he'd known them, he'd never really managed to find a good opportunity to bring the Bonding up._

_Eventually, he fell into a fitful sleep, fully clothed on top of his bedclothes. _

_He dreamed that the Bonding was upon him, that he was standing outside a small white chapel. The only problem was, the large double doors were shut tight against him, keeping him out, even though he knew everyone was inside, waiting for him. He threw his full weight against the doors, but they wouldn't budge. _

_"What are you doing?" came a cheerful voice beside him, and there was Al, dressed in black robes, a huge grin on his face. _

_"I need to get inside, Al," Scorpius tried to explain, but Al just laughed. _

_"Well, you have to _want_ it, Scorpius!" he said in a teasing voice._

_"I _do_!" Scorpius insisted. "But the doors won't open! Help me, Al, please!"_

_"Well, since you said 'please,'" Al said, and stepped forward and tapped a bronze eagle three times. Scorpius took a minute to wonder how he had missed that, the knocker to his own Common Room. Looking closer at it though, he realized there was one difference. The eagle on this knocker was chained. Then the eagle spoke. _

_"How do you get east of the sun and west of the moon?" the eagle asked. Scorpius frowned, trying to figure it out._

_"You take the train," Al said simply, and the door swung open. Scorpius stared at Al._

_"But that's nonsense!" he said._

_"Of course it is," Al said with a laugh. "Are you going in or not?" _

_Scorpius stepped through the door and found himself at one end of a long, narrow corridor. There was nowhere to go but forward, so he began to walk. At the other end of the hall was a single, empty chair, and two doors on either side of it, one a dark green, the other a deep blue. Written on the wall above the chair were the words _Trust your heart_. _

_"Al?" Scorpius called over his shoulder. Al seemed to know his way around this place. _

_But Al wasn't behind him. Scorpius turned and peered through the darkness, but he couldn't see anyone there. _

_"What are you waiting for, Scorp?" came his best friend's voice. Scorpius spun to see Al seated between the two doors, now dressed in ivory robes. _

_"I don't know which door to go through," Scorpius said. _

_"Do any of us?" Al asked him. Scorpius sighed in irritation. _

_"Al," he said, "this is serious! Which door leads to the Bonding?"_

_"They both do," Al told him. _

_"So it doesn't matter which door I take?"_

_"Oh, it matters a great deal," Al responded. "It will decide your future. But don't worry, Scorp! The Hat takes your choice into consideration."_

_"But this is my _Bonding_, not my Sorting!" Scorpius cried in frustration, thinking that if he could only get a straight answer, he could find his way out of here. _

_"But they're the same thing!" Al sang with another laugh. "You're a Malfoy, aren't you? You can choose to do what you _want_ to do," he said, with a gesture to the blue door, "or you can choose to do what's _expected _of you," and he held up a hand to the green door. _

_Scorpius looked back and forth from the blue to the green, and then his eyes found the words on the wall. _Trust your heart_. _

_"This is my Bonding," Scorpius said slowly. "And that's the obligation I have to my family. So it's the green door." And he crossed to it, Al watching him impassively the whole way. "Right?" he asked just before touching the doorknob._

_"It's your choice," was all Al said, so Scorpius touched the knob. At that moment, Al disappeared and the blue door opened. _

_A young woman in a bridal gown stepped out. Scorpius stared at her. It was Rose Weasley, and there was unspeakable pain on her face. _

_"Rose?" he asked, with a step toward her. She raised her face to his, her gaze hard and accusing. "Rose, what is it?" he asked frantically. "What's wrong?"_

_"You were supposed to trust your heart," she said in a hard, hurt voice._

_"I didn't know you were behind that door," Scorpius tried to explain. It was suddenly the most important thing in the world that she understand, that she not think he was abandoning her. "Rose, I didn't know!" But she had turned her back on him and begun to walk slowly into the darkness. "Rose!" he yelled, and tried to run after her, but the green door had him fast by his hand on the knob. "Rose, I didn't know! Please!" As the green door slowly began to suck him into its depths, she turned slowly, enough for him to see one lone tear slip down her cheek. "ROSE!" he screamed as another bride, Honoria, but with fangs and claws, descended upon him, burying him in darkness as his parents and hers looked on impassively. _

_The last thing he heard was Rose's voice saying once more, "You were supposed to trust your heart.". . . _

_Gasping for breath, Scorpius sat straight up in his bed, the dream still vivid in his mind. Overcome with its implications, and feeling as if he'd just been struck between the eyes with something that should have been obvious long before now, he reached out, fumbling for the small mirror he'd moved to his bedside table hours before. _

_"Al Potter," he gasped frantically, still trying to regain to his breath. The mirror's surface clouded momentarily, then came into focus with Al's face, still groggy with sleep, but looking mildly concerned. _

_"Scorpius?" Al asked, squinting at the mirror. "Is everything all right?_

_Scorpius shook his head numbly and blurted out, "Al, I think I'm falling in love with Rose." _

OOO

Scorpius Malfoy was in great distress, and could hardly concentrate on anything that his squad trainer was saying. He had been in such a state ever since the final examinations three days prior. He thought he had done well on both the written sections and most of the practical, but it was the final portion of the practical examination that weighed so heavily on his mind.

Since Harry Potter had taken charge of the program, the final practical portion of the entrance examination for all third year Auror students had consisted of a magically neutralized duel with one of the four squad leaders not their own, the most senior fighters in the department. Each of the fighters wore robes that visibly marked any touch of the neutralized spellwork, and disabled the hit fighter momentarily, depending on the strength of the spell used.

The four squad leaders not participating judged the student on their performance in the duel – losing did not automatically mean failure; the men and women the students were facing had, after all, been trained and practiced in their profession for the past twenty-five years at least. No, those judging looked for ingenuity and quick thinking, as well as powerful spells and a strong offensive front.

Scorpius Malfoy had been the last applicant to be tested, and he had entered the chamber to find himself face to face with Head Auror Harry Potter. He had wondered for a moment whether or not the pairing had been deliberate, but he had soon shoved the idea away, gripped his wand tightly, and prepared to duel.

From the moment they had saluted one another, and the first spell had been fired, Scorpius had entirely put aside who he was dueling and simply let his training take over. He had been trained well, and it had been added onto a natural talent for spellwork and a fierce determination to succeed.

The duel had gone quickly and silently. Scorpius deflected, blocked, or dodged all but three hits to his person, while returning as many to his opponent. The duel had ended in a fierce exchange of spells. Scorpius had advanced on the offensive, deflecting one curse, hitting his opponent with another, and, while his opponent dealt with the affects, Scorpius moved in to the Kill position, his wand pointedly squarely at the other man's throat. The robe registered the win.

It was then that he had come rushing back to himself. Auror Potter stood breathing hard, looking at Scorpius in some surprise. The silence in the chamber had been heavy indeed.

"Well," Auror Potter had said finally, with a step back. "I concede the fight. Well fought, Mr. Malfoy. Well fought indeed."

Extremely uncomfortable, Scorpius had nodded in response and proceeded to leave the chamber.

He had been stewing about this for the past three days. He had beaten Harry Potter in a duel. _Harry Potter_. And yes, he was well aware that if his hadn't been the fifth duel Auror Potter had fought that day, it probably wouldn't have happened, but that was beside the point. He had beaten Harry Potter. A Malfoy.

Auror Potter hadn't seemed upset, true enough, but Scorpius was sure that would set in eventually. He was positive that every one of his judges would look down on him and mark him down for such . . . _presumption_. No, they had all failed him, he was sure, or at least severely marked him down. A win was not the same as a pass, after all, just as a lose was not a guaranteed fail.

This was the day their results would be handed back, and as such, he was in a great deal of distress, and was having to _force_ himself to pay attention to what Auror Weasley was saying to his squad.

". . . to thank the four of you for a great three years. I am proud of everything you have accomplished, and now I shan't keep you from the suspense any longer. Miss Fawcett. Miss Hawkins. Mr. Leonard." With each name, he handed a parchment envelope into a waiting hand and dismissed his squad for the last time.

Looking Scorpius in the eye as the others left, Auror Weasley tapped the remaining envelope against his palm twice, considering the student before him. Scorpius' heart plunged. This was it. Obviously, his actions had prompted so ill a response that he was to be reprimanded in person for them.

Swallowing hard, he tried not to let any of his emotions show on his face. "Scorpius," Auror Weasley said, his tone weighted as he held out the envelope. Scorpius took it hesitantly.

"Sir?" he asked. Very slowly, one corner of Auror Weasley's mouth rose.

"You passed first, Scorpius," the older man said quietly. "Out of the whole class. The panel was most impressed with your performance, Auror Potter in particular. You blew them all away, and I wanted to tell you in person."

Scorpius could hardly believe what he was hearing. "F–_first_?" he repeated, hastily opening his envelope, needing to see it in print before he'd truly be able to believe this wasn't all some elaborate hoax.

But there, on the parchment in front of him, were those very words.

_Mr. Malfoy, we are pleased to inform you that . . . _He let out a breath of air he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he stared, stunned, at the paper in front of him, the truth only just then beginning to sink in.

He'd _passed_ . . .

Auror Weasley was grinning now, as much at Scorpius' dumb shock as anything else. He clapped Scorpius on the back, saying, "Welcome to the force, _Auror_ Malfoy." Scorpius could feel his own grin starting.

"Thanks," he breathed, still not quite able to look away from the parchment he was holding.

"There is a reception this Friday," Auror Weasley told him. "For the new recruits and their families. Your parents are, of course – welcome to join us. Just – let me know how many we can expect, so we can get a sense of numbers."

At his mentor's words, Scorpius felt the smile fall from his face. He had to respect Auror Weasley for not openly saying that his father's presence would have to be dealt with as a minor security threat, but Scorpius hadn't graduated first in his class for nothing, and he couldn't pretend that he didn't know what having an ex-Death Eater show up at a Ministry function would mean.

But he put on another bright smile and handled the problem as his teacher had – with casual nonchalance. "I find it likely that my parents will not be able to attend, but I will speak to them about it, to make sure."

"We appreciate it," Auror Weasley said with a more genuine smile. "Now, get home and share your news!"

With a nod to his superior, Scorpius left the room and headed out of the Ministry. He tried to keep the smile on his face, but found he couldn't quite manage it in light of the task now before him. Passing the strenuous final examinations had been easy compared with having to tell his father about it.

Scorpius had little idea about his father's feelings on the matter. Draco Malfoy had taken news of Scorpius' joining the program with the same calm, impassive mask that he took all news surrounding his son. He hadn't been openly disapproving of his son's choice, but he hadn't exacting been approving, either. He had been . . . nothing, and Scorpius knew that it was more than likely that his father would be nothing about this latest information as well – at least in front of his son.

Scorpius knew that his father _had_ to have an opinion on his sons's career choice, but he knew equally well that trying to discern that opinion was like trying to get the time of day out of an unenchanted wall. Draco Malfoy was the most taciturn individual Scorpius had ever met, and it wouldn't have been quite so frustrating if he hadn't been Scorpius' father.

No, Scorpius thought as he made his way inside his family's remote manor home. His father was likely to respond to this Auror business the way he'd responded to everything else in Scorpius' life – never expressing disapproval, but never expressing pride, either.

Scorpius sighed as he shut the door behind him, bracing himself. "Mother?" he called. "Father?"

"Scorpius?" His mother emerged from the front parlor. "Scorpius, we didn't expect to see you today, dear," she said with surprise, coming over and embracing her. With a faint smile, he kissed her cheek.

"I got my examination results back," he said by way of explanation. She understood immediately.

"How wonderful!" she said with a smile that was infectious, even in Scorpius' current state of mind. "Draco! Scorpius is here! With his results!" she called down the hall as she ushered Scorpius into the front parlor. "You have to tell us everything, dear," she told her son warmly. Scorpius returned the smile until his father entered through the room's far door.

Scorpius met his father's impassive gray eyes and unconsciously stood a little straighter. Smiling encouragingly at her son, Astoria Malfoy took a few steps away from him, so that he could face both his parents at once.

Scorpius took a deep breath, then stated his news. "I – passed," he said, thinking somehow that it didn't sound as impressive as it had only ten minutes ago. "First out of my class of twenty." He directed the words to his father, and watched carefully for any kind of reaction, but Draco Malfoy gave none besides glancing down briefly. Scorpius struggled not to let his emotions show on his face.

"Scorpius, that's wonderful!" his mother said, hurrying forward to embrace him. "Congratulations! Draco?" she said, turning. "Isn't it wonderful?" Scorpius watched his father nod.

"It is an accomplishment," he said evenly.

"One to be proud of," he mother said after a brief hesitation, but that slight pause had been enough to set the room alive with tension. "This deserves a celebration!" his mother said, plunging forward valiantly. "Can you stay to supper, Scorpius?"

"I – have no other plans," he said, tearing his eyes away from his father.

"Excellent," she said warmly, but then her eyes flicked to her husband, as if expecting him to add something. When he did not, she picked up the conversation again, trying to steer Scorpius to a nearby sofa. "Is there going to be some sort of recognition at the Ministry?"

"There is a reception on Friday," he said. "For the families. You're both invited, I just have to let Auror Weasley know if you're coming. For – for numbers," he finished, and the excuse sounded as weak in his mouth as it had in his teacher's. And Draco Malfoy didn't miss its implications any more than his son had.

"You may tell – Auror Weasley," he said stiffly, "that he needn't worry about providing extra security at his function. We won't be attending." Scorpius said nothing. To try and argue that Auror Weasley hadn't been worried about that would have been pointless, as they both knew differently.

"Draco," his mother said softly, and Scorpius couldn't read the message in his mother's word, but apparently, his father could. Draco Malfoy sniffed and shifted his position, some emotion coming through to his face, but before Scorpius could identify it, it was gone.

"If we are having a celebratory dinner," he said, "then I'd best go alert Hilde."

"Draco, we can tell her any time," Astoria said, half amusement and half mild disapproval. "Why don't you come sit and talk with us?" Scorpius watched as his father gave a small, stiff smile that didn't fully reach his eyes.

"She'll want as much time as possible, and it won't take me a moment," he said, and then he had slipped from the room. Scorpius watched him go with a feeling that was decidedly like disappointment, but that he knew couldn't be, because how could he truly be disappointed when his father had fulfilled his exact expectations?

"Your father is proud of you, Scorpius," his mother said softly, a hand on his arm.

"All evidence to the contrary," Scorpius muttered, his eyes still on the doorway through which his father had disappeared. Scorpius' stiff formality had left when his father had left the room, replaced by frustration and a sullen sort of disgruntlement that added to his frustration, because he knew he should be able to control himself better than that.

Beside him, Astoria sighed almost inaudibly. "Your father may not show his pride in the usual way, but it's there," she said gently.

"Unfortunately, even with twenty years experience, finding it is not a skill I have mastered," he said in a clipped voice, shrugging away from his mother's touch to stare pensively out a window.

"Scorpius," she said as she came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He met her eyes in the reflection in the window, holding her gaze for a moment before looking away.

"I beat Harry Potter in a duel, Mum," Scorpius said softly, watching her reflection in the window carefully. Surprise and confusion and the smallest hint of fear flitted across her face before she schooled her expression more carefully. Scorpius turned and took her hands to explain. "In my final practical examination. I was paired up against Head Auror _Harry Potter_, and I won," he breathed. Somehow, saying it aloud made it that much more real. "And I can't _tell_ him that because I have no idea how he'd take it!"

He dropped his mother's hands to walk the width of the room, trying to regain control over his frustration. "He doesn't want to color your choices," she said simply. Scorpius turned sharply, with a short, humorless laugh.

"Mother, I'm _on_ the Force! I've been training for this for three years, I've passed my examinations, I'm in! How is telling me, to my face, that he's proud of me going to color my choices at this point?"

"He doesn't know," she said gently, moving fluidly across the room to where he stood. "And that's the point, Scorpius. By the time he was your age, he had made so many mistakes. He has spent his life trying to make up for them, but he could never afford to seem to be using _your_ life for that, Scorpius." She gave him a sad smile and reached up to cup the side of his face. "Some day, you will understand. Until that time, take my word for it when I say that your father _is_ proud of you. You are so different from him, but in many, many ways, you are so like him, too."

"And I suppose I'll have to take your word on that, too?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, unfazed by his sardonic tone. "But if it makes you feel any better, _I_ am proud of you. And I may not be able to boast to many people, but I shall boast to Hilde and I shall boast to my mirror, and if he is very, very good, I may even boast to your father."

That earned a small smile from Scorpius, who leaned down and kissed his mother's cheek. "Thanks, Mum," he whispered.

"Come," she said with a smile. "Let's get Hilde to fuss over you, shall we? And you'll have to tell Honoria – she'll want to know."

Scorpius let his mother steer him out of the room, trying to mask the distressing train of thought she'd just sent him on. Because he also would have to Al know, but Al would probably already know because of his father, and other people would know because of _their_ fathers, and what it all boiled down to was that the reception on Friday would probably end up in another face to face meeting with Rose.

And just like that, he was no longer looking forward to the event.

OOO

_Under any other circumstances, the fact that Scorpius was not paying attention to his co-Head as she led the Prefects meeting would have been a source of great embarrassment to him. But as he had already graduated, and this was his last Prefects meeting, and there wasn't that much to talk about that Rose couldn't handle on her own, _and_ he had quite a lot on his mind, he thought his lack of focus could be excused._

_Yesterday, he had officially finished his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and this morning he had gotten into a boat with Rose Weasley and Al Potter and left the school in much the same way they had first entered it – amid an awkward and preoccupied silence._

_The silence had stemmed from the fact that he and Rose hadn't spoken in five days, and that neither of them had wanted Al to know that, even while both of them knew full well that Al was shrewd and observant enough to figure it out._

_And the reason that he and Rose hadn't spoken in all that time was because when they _had _spoken five days ago, Scorpius, after sitting on the information for two and a half years, had told Rose that he was in love with her. And the conversation that followed had not gone as he would have wished. Or, if he was honest with himself, as he had expected._

_As Rose thanked the Prefects for a year of dedication and hard work, Scorpius replayed their last conversation over yet again in his head._

_Scorpius had spent the last two and a half years supplying reason after reason for why he hadn't told Rose his feelings, but as the end of their NEWT week had come to a close, Scorpius' excuses had been wearing thin, and he'd known it. As had Al, who had spent much of the past year reminding him that time was running out, and whenever Scorpius had worried that she wouldn't return his feelings, Al had assured him that such would not be the case._

_Scorpius hadn't yet told Al that he'd made his admission, for the simple reason that what Al had assured him would never happen was exactly what _had_. _

_Also . . . there was something . . . not right about what she'd said, or rather, what she'd implied. That feeling had been growing over the past five days. It had first come around about twenty minutes after the encounter, when Al had cornered him and he had evaded answering Al's ever-present question about whether or not he'd told her yet. He'd been vague, and simply let Al make assumptions as he would, and as soon as Al had left, Scorpius had realized with a jolt that that was exactly what Rose had done to him._

_He was more certain of it every time he replayed the conversation in his head._

_He had asked her for a private word. Then, once they were alone, he had told her that he was in love with her. When she had appeared to be at a loss for words, he had quickly said that he wasn't expecting a response; he'd just wanted her to know, and that she had no need to feel obligated to respond right away. Then, looking crestfallen, she had told him that she cared about him more than anyone, and she didn't want him to think that she didn't care. Finishing her thought, he had said "But you don't feel the same way." She had shaken her head and apologized, and then he had left._

_Never had she said she didn't love him. The head shake could have been to confirm his statement or refute it. The apology could have been for anything. She had never said that she didn't love him. She had let him make assumptions and fill in the blanks._

_No. He was more certain of it every time he replayed the scene. Something was wrong. There was something she wasn't saying, something she was keeping from him, and he needed to know what it was._

_He hadn't expected her to say no. It was that simple. For all that he'd confessed that worry to Al, in his heart, he truly believed that she loved him like he loved her. It was in a million different tiny moment over the past year alone. It was in Al's confidence, Al, who knew her better than almost anyone in the world. It was, sappy as it sounded, in the strength of his feelings for her, because something that strong just couldn't _not _be reciprocated. _

_With a jolt, he realized that the meeting was over, and the Prefects were all filing out of the compartment. Mainly, he realized that Rose was no longer by his side. With a silent curse, he craned his neck above the sea of people swarming out into the corridor, trying to spot her telltale head of hair. He caught sight of her as she slipped out the doors with the Ravenclaw Prefects. He cursed again, audibly this time. She'd rather leave the compartment in shambles to be cleaned up later than spend any time alone with him? This rather confirmed his fears. There _was _something she was keeping from him. _

_He waited for the crowd to thin, then made his own way out, slipping past random students, eyes peeled for her as he made his way down the train. A few compartments in, he found her, deep in conversation with a couple of Ravenclaw girls._

_"Rose!" he called, and watched as she deliberately didn't answer him. Feeling slightly angry and bewildered, he called out again as he came up beside her. "Rose!"_

_After a slight hesitation, she turned to him, a forced smile on her face. "Yes?" she asked._

_"You disappeared after the meeting," he said, breathing hard from his jog down the train. "I couldn't catch you." She took a deep breath, clearly steadying herself._

_"Do you need something?" she asked. He stared at her, completely at a loss for why she was acting this way with him. It couldn't just be because he'd made things awkward by admitting his feelings, could it?_

_"Rose," he started, but then noticed that they were being watched sidelong by the Ravenclaw girls now inside the compartment. He shook his head. This was not a conversation he wanted to have in the open. "Come here," he said, taking her by the wrist and leading her back toward the compartment they'd just left."Rose," he said again, after they were inside and he had shut the compartment door. "I don't want to bring this up–"_

_"Then you probably shouldn't," she said immediately, pushing past him to start gathering the things still scattered about the compartment. He sighed. She wasn't going to make this easy, which he'd been afraid of. If she really _was _hiding something from him, she'd try to give him the brush off. Well, he wasn't about to allow that._

_"Rose, I've been thinking about our – conversation," he said hesitantly. "And I've realized that – well, _I _did all the talking. You . . . never really said anything." _

_There was a heavy pause before she said, "Scorpius, can we please not do this again?" He crossed his arms and steadying himself as he watched her back._

_"I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I have to know."_

_"You _do _know," she insisted nervously. "You said it yourself." And she turned then and tried to push past him to the compartment door._

_"Exactly," he said, taking one step and blocking her path. "_I _said it. You didn't." _

_"But it was still said!" she said, and she looked close to panicking, and he couldn't figure out why. "You have your answer, Scorpius, please let me go."_

_"No," he said stubbornly._

_"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, and it half sounded like a plead. It was the pleading that won the truth from him._

_"Because I didn't expect you to say no," he said simply. "Everything I'd seen and heard from people . . . Rose, just –" He sighed, frustrated. "It didn't match up. I didn't expect you to say no."_

_"I did," she whispered. He shook his head._

_"No," he said, his voice firmer. "You didn't. Say it now, if that's your answer." Her eyes darted from his face to the doors and back. His stomach plummeted. She looked ready to bolt. He might have spared a moment to pity her if this hadn't been an indication that whatever was wrong was a lot more serious than he'd originally thought._

_"Scorpius," she pleaded._

_"Say it," he said, and his voice was stony now. She set her jaw and glared at him._

_"Let me go," she insisted._

_"Say it!" he demanded, tension building every time she evaded his answer. They were only inches apart now._

_"Let me go!" she demanded._

_"Tell me you don't love me and I will!" he said angrily, gripping her wrist. The only times she was this evasive were when she was trying to avoid lying to him. The thought that she might be on the edge of doing so now angered him. If she didn't love him, why not say it? And if she did, why pretend otherwise?_

_"Scorpius!"_

_"_Say it_!"_

_"How could a Weasley ever love a Malfoy?"_

_The silence after her angry words rang horribly. Scorpius staggered backward, staring at her in horrified shock, completely unable to draw breath. He felt like she'd just slapped him._

_Never, not once since their first meeting on the train, had they ever used their families against one another._

_He met her eyes, searching for any sign of horror on her part, any remorse or apology or _anything_ that would tell him that she didn't mean it, _couldn't _have possibly meant what she'd just said. There was another explanation for it, there had to be._

_But there was nothing in her eyes, nothing but anger and a hard unyielding determination that filled him with fury, disgust, and, above all, utter humiliation. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked out._

_He truly wanted to be able to leave her behind, but he couldn't. Because just leaving wasn't _enough_. Not for her. Not for what she'd just done. He was furious with himself, for being deceived so easily and so completely, but even more than that, he was furious with her, so angry he could burst or attack someone or perform an Unforgivable. Never in his entire life had he felt such rage. She couldn't have hurt him more if she'd planned it. She had _humiliated _him. She'd been having him on for years, clearly, and just walking out of her life wasn't enough to punish her for that. He would have the upper hand in all this, the last word, no matter what it took._

_He was barely two steps out the door when he reached this conclusion, and in another heartbeat, he had turned once more. She was right where he had left her. Roughly, angrily, he grabbed her wrist and shoved her against the wall of the compartment, not fully knowing what he was going to do._

_It was her mouth opening in shock that did it. He didn't want to hear anything else out of that foul mouth, so he silenced her._

_He had dreamed of kissing Rose Weasley almost endlessly for two and a half years. He had never dreamed of kissing her like this. There was nothing gentle or passionate or loving in the kiss he forced on her. It was rough and angry and hot and punishing. It was an incoherent scream, it was all the pain and mortification she'd just inflicted on him, returned to her tenfold. He refused to accept it, not from the likes of her. It was a kiss of betrayal, of fury, of hatred. He wanted to hurt her, as much as she'd hurt him._

_He all but shoved himself away from her, and when he looked at her, it was in disgust._

_"And that's the last thing I am _ever_ going to say to you," he growled at her, releasing her sharply, not caring if he hurt her. Taking one step away, he looked her up and down with disgust. "You are _not _who I thought you were." _

__

And then he was gone, getting as far away from her as possible. And it still wasn't enough, and he knew it, but he didn't dare stay to do any more because he knew he wouldn't have been able to control it. And he knew that the longer he stayed, the longer there was a chance she might say or do something to make her forgive him.

And if Scorpius Malfoy knew one thing as he walked out of her life for good, it was that he was never going to forgive Rose Weasley for this, not as long as he lived.

OOO

The Auror Welcoming Reception had been going on for little more than an hour, and already Scorpius was wondering how long it would be before he could leave without seeming rude. If it hadn't been for the few people in the room who were openly proud of his accomplishment for what it was, he'd have been gone long before then. Between accepting the somewhat dubious congratulations of most of the people there, enduring only half-joking comments about whether or not his father had put him up to all this, and trying to avoid Rose Weasley, Scorpius was more than ready to leave the glittering hall behind him.

Rose Weasley. Scorpius sighed. If someone had told him three years ago, he would never have believed that she had the potential to leave so much destruction in her wake. Her impromptu World Tour had been a blessing in disguise for him, but from the moment she'd returned, she'd turned every aspect of his life completely on its head. He couldn't come to work without worrying that he might randomly run into her in a corridor. He couldn't accept a lunch with Al for fear that she'd have been invited along. And, most irritating of all, he'd been finding it harder and harder to listen to plans for his upcoming Bonding.

Because somehow, inexplicably, even after everything that had happened and everything he now knew to be true, he was still in love with her. This he considered to be the ultimate betrayal. _She_ had betrayed _him_. _She_ had lied to him, strung him along, broken _his_ heart with her cruelty, yet _he_ couldn't manage to fall out of love with her. It was infuriating! In two weeks, he would be Bonding himself to Honoria Ridgeton, a girl he respected, a girl he could talk to, a girl with whom he was an equal. His mind was firmly decided, his choice was made, and yet, the closer he drew to his Bonding, the more often he was plagued by a dream of a church corridor ending in two doors and the words "Trust your heart."

He supposed he could pin much of the blame on Al. Al had no idea what had conspired between the two of them three years ago because neither Scorpius nor Rose had told him. Al didn't even know that Scorpius had admitted his feelings; though, why Rose would never have told him was something Scorpius couldn't fathom, not that he'd spent a great deal of time trying to. But he had wondered.

But Al, not knowing the cause of their falling out, had become more and more meddlesome as the summer had worn on, arranging surprise meetings, and just in general, forcing the two of them to spend more time with one another than Scorpius would have thought possible for two people so obviously wishing to avoid each other. It was highly irritating, and more than once, Scorpius had been tempted to tell Al to back off. He'd restrained himself only by reminding himself that Al had no way to know how painful each meeting with Rose Weasley really was, and that was because Scorpius hadn't told him.

With a jolt, Scorpius realized that instead of paying attention to the Ministry official who was offering more congratulations, he'd been watching Rose Weasley from across the room as she talked to one of her father's colleagues. With a scowl, he forced his attention back to the Auror speaking to him.

"I wonder how your father takes your accomplishment?" the man asked with an edge to his voice. Scorpius schooled his features into an expression of politeness.

"He was surprised by my choice, but he is proud of the things I've accomplished." The man nodded with a look of polite incredulity that rankled.

"Well, he would have to be, wouldn't he?" the Auror said, insinuating a whole host of things that Scorpius had been hearing all evening.

"Yes, well," he said, looking for some kind of escape. With a feeling of great relief, he saw Al making his way toward them. "Thank you very much," Scorpius told the Auror with faked sincerity, "but I have a small matter of business I have to take care of, so if you'll excuse me?" And in a single, fluid movement, he had nodded politely to the man, intercepted Al's progress across the room, and steered him out into the hallway.

"Where are we going?" Al asked him in an undertone.

"To discuss something privately before I do something guaranteed to get my acceptance into the Auror program revoked," Scorpius said through the smile still pasted on his face.

"Ah," Al said in immediate understanding. "They are a bit much, aren't they?" Scorpius grimaced.

"I can't say I wasn't expecting it," he murmured as they turned the corner into a darkened corridor. "But still."

"Here," Al said, opening one of the doors that lined the wall. With a wave of his wand, the lamps in the room flared to life, revealing a small office. He and Scorpius stepped inside and each perched on one of the desks crammed inside. They sat for a few moments in companionable silence, and Scorpius was reminded of all the hours they'd spent at Hogwarts in such a manner. For the briefest of moments, Scorpius caught himself longing for those days again, before his life became complicated, back when he and Al and Rose were the closest trio of students Hogwarts had seen since Al and Rose's parents had been there, back when his biggest worry was mastering Professor McGonagall's latest spell and falling in love was something he barely thought twice about.

Al's voice shook him from his reverie. "So, I was thinking maybe you and I could catch lunch sometime this week, to celebrate." Scorpius smiled. "I'll invite Rose, and –" The smile fell from Scorpius' face.

"Could you please stop doing that?" he asked Al softly. Al looked taken aback for a moment, but then he hardened his face into a look of determined innocence.

"What?" he asked. "Try to get my two best friends to speak to one another again?"

"You don't know what happened," Scorpius muttered, staring at the carpet, his mouth set in a hard line.

"According to Rose, all that happened is that you two drifted apart, and it seems to _me_ that the natural solution to that is to spend time together again, and so –"

"I'm getting Bonded in two weeks," Scorpius said abruptly, cutting Al off. In a softer voice, he said, "Please stop trying to play matchmaker." Then he risked looking up at Al, who had his mouth open to speak, clearly on the defensive. Scorpius headed him off. "And don't tell me that you don't know what I'm talking about. We both know you're smarter than that." Al turned his head away, the look on his face dark.

"The Bonding's still on then?" he asked, his tone unreadable. Scorpius refrained from rolling his eyes or snapping.

"Yes," he said shortly. "There's no reason why it wouldn't be." The dark look on Al's face deepened.

"There is, actually, a reason why," he said in a tight voice. "A fairly good reason, if I remember correctly." Scorpius shifted, suddenly wishing he'd stayed at the party and fought _that_ fight, because at least that one would have ended with the evening's end.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again," he said flatly, straightening. He had absolutely no qualms about leaving Al unceremoniously if it meant avoiding this particular argument, which had, over the course of the summer, grown very old indeed.

"Because I'm right!" Al shouted at him. "And you know it!"

"Right about what, Al?" Scorpius demanded, turning on his heel to face him. "Right to meddle in everyone's lives? Right to constantly try and reorder the world if it's not panning out quite the way you'd like? Is that what you're right about, Al?"

"You know damned well what I'm right about," Al snarled. If Scorpius hadn't been so angry, he would have been taken aback by Al's tone. "I can't, in good conscience, stand by and watch you Bond yourself to someone you care nothing about!"

"I do care about Honoria," Scorpius shot back immediately. "I care about her a great deal, and I have all the respect in the world for her –"

"I'm sorry; I didn't hear you say anything about love," Al sneered. Scorpius bit back an angry response. Standing here shouting at Al wasn't going to help anything.

"Excuse me," he said in a clipped tone and turned to exit the room.

"I won't excuse you. I _can't_ excuse you!" Al growled then. "I can't _believe_ you're really going to marry someone else in two weeks when you're in love with my cousin!" Scorpius looked away, jaw set, trying to find a way to avoid what Al had just said.

"I'm not marrying her," Scorpius tried to say, but Al cut him off.

"That's what this means, and you know it, so don't bother debating semantics with me! And I still don't understand how you could _do_ something like this! You are in love with the same person you were in love with three years ago, and it's _not_ Honoria Ridgeton! I _know_ you, so don't try to tell me that's not true! How can you do this to Rose, to Honoria? How is it fair to either of them?" Al demanded.

"I am done with this conversation," he said again, teeth clenched as he forced himself to stay calm, moving once more for the doorway.

"She loves you, Scorpius!" Al's voice rang out. Scorpius froze, his heart constricting painfully at his best friend's words. It was with difficulty that Scorpius found his voice.

"Rose doesn't love me," he said softly, not turning around. "She showed me that, Al, three years ago, and I can't waste my life on someone who doesn't love me."

"Then why are you Bonding yourself to Honoria?" Al challenged immediately. Scorpius spun to face him, mouth open, reading to argue, but Al didn't give him the choice. He took another few steps toward Scorpius and looked at him earnestly. "Rose lied to you, Scorpius," Al said, softer. "I don't know why, but she did. She loves you; she's loved you for _years_, I don't even know how long, but I do know that she still does, and that spending time with you this summer has been slowly killing her!"

"Then it's a wonder you've been shoving us together for the past two months!" Scorpius snapped, finally at his breaking point. He'd had enough, and Al's hypocrisy, though Scorpius believed it was unintentional, was more than he could stand. All the irritation he'd felt toward Al's meddling and matchmaking this summer finally came boiling up and spilling out. "Listen up, Al. My life doesn't need your hand in it, and I doubt very much that Rose's does, so do us both a favor and back off!"

"Well, maybe if the two of you could get your lives together on your own, I'd be able to!" Al snapped.

His hands clenched into fists, Scorpius opened his mouth to respond, but a knock on the doorframe stopped him.

Startled, he turned to see Rose Weasley standing in the doorway, glaring at Al and looking more furious than Scorpius could ever remember seeing her. As the entirety of the situation hit him, Scorpius could feel the blood drain from his face. How long had she been standing in the corridor, he thought wildly, and how much had she overheard?

"Scorpius, my dad is looking for you," she said then, without taking her eyes from Al. "Your absence is becoming conspicuous." With a swallow, Scorpius nodded and made a swift exit, his cheeks now starting to burn. He strode quickly down the marble hall, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the disaster that had just happened as possible.

He was halfway back to the party when the implications of what had just happened finally caught up with him, and his curiosity began to get the better of him. He slowed and finally stopped as he wondered how much truth had been in Al's words. Was it . . . possible that Rose really _did _love him? That she _had _lied to him?

He couldn't bring himself to believe it. With a shake of his head to clear it, he resumed his trip back to the celebration, but he had barely covered a few paces before the niggling sense in the back of his brain made itself known again.

He couldn't bring himself to believe that Rose had lied to him, and yet . . . _if_ she had . . . there were too many things that it would explain, were it true.

But _why_? That was the question, and it was one Al _hadn't_ answered. Did Al even know? If Scorpius had let Al go on, what sort of proof would he have eventually offered? Had Rose admitted to loving Scorpius in Al's presence? Admitted to lying to him? Or was all this just something Al had intuited, not necessarily right? And what about what she'd said on the train? If she really loved him, _why_ would she have ever said something like that? And how could she have looked like she meant it, when she'd never been able to successfully lie to him?

Standing stationary in the middle of the hallway, Scorpius growled with frustration and glanced back the way he'd come. If he was honest with himself, he wanted to know what was being said in that room right now, much as he would have claimed he did not. It may have been masochistic, but Al had raised too many questions, and Scorpius _knew_ that the only place he was going to find answers was back in that room.

In another heartbeat, he was doubling back the way he'd come, pulling out his wand as he went and casting the strongest non-verbal Disillusionment charm he was capable of. As he approached the one lit room in an otherwise darkened corridor, he slowed, heart pounding as he crept silently toward the office door with all the stealth that three years of Auror training had given him.

". . . the only thing enabling him to be Bonded to her while in love with someone else was the knowledge that that someone else did not love him in return," Rose was saying angrily.

"But –"

"As long," she said loudly, speaking over Al's interruption, "as there was no way his feelings could be returned, he could still respect her and himself in this union."

"But you _do_ love him!" Al insisted stubbornly. Scorpius' heart pounded in his throat as he pressed himself against the cool wall, waiting for Rose's response.

"That's not the _point_!" she exclaimed loudly, clearly frustrated.

"But you don't deny it!"

"God, Al, is that what you _want_?" she asked with a hint of desperation in her voice. "For me to admit that I love him? All right! _Yes_! I love him! Okay? I love him! I've loved him for years! Are you happy now?"

Scorpius could hardly breathe. Hearing it from Al had been one thing. He could perhaps have ignored it, coming from Al, written it off as another desperate attempt at matchmaking. But hearing it straight from Rose's mouth was another thing entirely. _That_ he couldn't ignore.

_She loves me_, he thought, bewildered, his mind whirring non-stop as he tried to accept this new piece of information. Through his haze of confusion, he barely registered that Al was speaking, let alone what he best friend was saying. _Then why . . . ?_

Then he heard a bitter laugh from Rose, and then she said, "You don't know what I did, Al," she said shortly. "I'm lucky he's willing to _talk_ to me. You don't know what I did."

Al's response was so quiet Scorpius couldn't hear what it was. But he did catch Rose's next words.

"I broke his heart," she said simply. "I did it cruelly, I did it thoroughly . . . and I did it on purpose." Scorpius felt as though the world as he'd known it for the past three years was coming crashing down all around him while he stood frozen to the spot, unable to move. _On . . . purpose? _he thought faintly. His breathing was suddenly very shallow, and his heart was pounding painfully in his throat, and he heard her next words as if from a great distance. "I have never been what my father wanted me to be, Al. I'm a Ravenclaw who'd rather spend a night in the Forbidden Forest than have to get on a broomstick, and the biggest adventure I've ever had was almost getting strangled by the Venomous Tentacula in third year Herbology. I have spent my life disappointing him. Can you imagine what he would have gone through if I had ever brought a Malfoy home? He would never have forgiven me."

"So . . . you . . . ?" Al said quietly, after an unbearably long pause.

"It was the only way," she whispered desperately. Scorpius had to strain to catch her words. "If I proved to him that I wasn't anyone to waste time or love on, he'd eventually move on. It was the only way to ensure that he'd end up happy." Rose's voice broke on the last word, and that roused Scorpius from his stupor. He acted without thinking, pushing himself away from the wall, fully intending to go into the office, and take Rose in his arms and tell her that it was all right, that he understood, that he forgave everything. He wanted to tell her that he still loved her, that she could have a second chance, that the only way he would be truly happy would be with her in his life.

But then Al spoke again."Why not just be with him?" he asked, and the question woke Scorpius' brain from its emotion-fogged state, and he stilled, waiting for her answer.

"Because it wouldn't have worked!" she said. "He would have given up everything for me, Al; you know he would have. I wouldn't have, don't you see that? I wouldn't have given up everything for him. I wasn't brave enough. I didn't love him enough. And even if I had, with time, we would have regretted it. We would have had to sever ties with everyone, Al, and slowly, regretting would have turned to resenting, and it would have pulled us apart." Her words cut straight to his heart, not in the least because they were true, and, if he was honest with himself, he had to admit that.

"But things are different now," he heard Al whispered.

"Not different enough," was Rose's anguished response. "And it's too late. I love him. And that's why I can't be with him, even if he should come after me now. If he left Honoria to pursue me, and I accepted him, the same thing would happen. He'd regret breaking his promise to her for the rest of his life, and that regret would slowly turn to resentment. I can't let that happen."

As her words sunk in, Scorpius found himself sliding down the length of the wall, sitting heavily on the ground, his head in his hands, full of more anguish than he could ever have imagined possible. God, she was right, _she was right_, and it killed him.

He could hear the continued murmur of voices coming out of the office, but the words no longer held any meaning for him.

She loved him. She'd loved him for years, maybe even as long as he'd loved her. She loved him, and they could never be together. Those were the only real things in his world at that moment.

For his last two years at school, Scorpius had known that if Rose returned his feelings, he would, as she had said, have given up everything for her. He would have negated the arrangement with the Ridgetons, faced his father's wrath, all of it, if he could only have her. And for one brief, shining moment that night, he'd truly thought he'd regained that truth, somehow. But Rose's good sense had prevailed, as it always did, as it always had.

Everything she'd done, everything she'd said . . . it had all been in an effort to save him from this moment, from this choice, and from the anguish he was feeling. And he had to take a moment to recognize that she'd done it, as she did everything, brilliantly. She'd done the one thing guaranteed to make him hate her forever. Anything less than using his family against him, and he would have eventually seen through it. But not this.

She was right. She'd been right all along. They would never have worked. And in two weeks, he'd be promised to someone else, and that would be the end of it.

And yet . . . a stubborn spark of hope remained, one glimmer that refused to die. Because maybe she hadn't meant it. Maybe he could still make it work.

He barely noticed when Al rushed past him where he sat, slumped on the floor. But when Rose followed just moments later, his whole body tensed. He had to know. He _had_ to know.

With a flick of her wand and no backward glance, she extinguished the lamps even as he rose clumsily to his feet, and followed her.

She didn't return to the party. She turned the opposite way instead and headed for the nearest exit the Ministry offered. Scorpius followed her the whole way, stealthily, not removing the Disillusionment charm because he hadn't decided what he was going to do yet. His whole body felt on fire with the knowledge he now had.

As she approached the door leading outside, he knew he was losing his chance. "Rose?" he said, speaking her name almost before he'd decided what he was going to do.

Slowly, she turned, and didn't seem at all surprised to see him. The look on her face was one of immense sadness, and it brought a pang to Scorpius' heart. He wanted so badly to alleviate that sadness, and he knew that he couldn't, not unless she'd let him. He realized she was waiting for him to say something.

"Your dad sent me to see if you were all right. When you didn't come back to the party, he was worried," he said, surprising himself with how smoothly the small lie fell from his mouth.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "I just . . . I need to go. Tell him I'm not feeling well, that I went home, would you?" she pleaded softly. Scorpius nodded.

"Of course." She gave him a small, sad smile and stepped over the threshold of the open door, and he knew he couldn't let her leave. He just had to ask. "Rose?" She stopped but did not turn. "Did you mean it?" he asked quietly. "What you said to Al?"

There was an unbearably long pause where he waited for her answer, fully aware that if she asked which part he meant, he wouldn't be able to answer. Finally she spoke, so softly that he almost didn't hear it. "Every word," she whispered.

With a pang of regret and resignation, he nodded, though she couldn't see him, and stepped back into shadow, to return to the party. Then he heard his name.

"Scorpius?" He turned back quickly, meeting her eyes desperately, not even sure what he was hoping she might say. She was silent for a long time, clearly searching for the right thing to say. With another pang, he saw that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. "I'm sorry," she finally said.

Twenty-four hours ago, that would never have been enough. Not from her, not after what she'd done. But now . . . things were different, almost beyond recognition. He knew that there were a thousand different possible endings to her apology. He knew that he should ask her to clarify. He knew he should need more than that, should demand more than that.

But all he did was nod, returning her sad smile with one of his own. Because he didn't need more. He knew what she meant. He understood all too well. And in that instant, he took some of that deep-rooted sadness of hers into himself, a weight he knew they would both bear probably for the rest of their lives.

In two weeks, he would Bond himself to Honoria. In a year, they would wed. There was no way around it, he knew that now. He could never live with himself if he backed out of that promise, and she would never accept him if he did. He watched her go with a sense that, unfortunately, things were right now, in the only way it was possible for them to be right. Maybe if they'd just acted sooner . . . but they hadn't, and this was the only way. He watched her go, and he let her go.

And that night, for the first time, he dreamt that he chose the blue door. But the door would not open, no matter how hard he pulled at the knob. That door was forever shut to him, and as he examined it closely, he realized that it was because it wasn't truly a door at all, just a knob attached to a wall. It had never truly been a choice.

When his dream self realized this, he fell to his knees in anguish, and stared up at the writing on the wall, which had also changed. It no longer urged him to follow his heart. It now bore only the words _I'm sorry_. And Scorpius knew that that would have to be enough, even as he knew that it never could be.

* * *

To be continued.

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Note from the Author: Sorry about the wait! Again. I know I promised you an update, like, two weeks ago, but it's here now, and I hope you enjoy it! One more chapter after this, but I've learned my lesson, and I won't put a time frame up on it except 'soon, I hope'!

Scenes in italics are scenes from the past.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of it, never have, and most likely never will.

* * *

Fighting Briars - Chapter Three

"_I must say," Scorpius' companion said thoughtfully as they made their way through the extensive gardens of Malfoy Manor. "I was quite surprised to get your owl yesterday." _

_Scorpius looked sidelong at Honoria Ridgeton, trying to get a subtle read on her. "Were you?" he asked casually. She glanced at him, and he was surprised to see a smile lurking around the corners of her mouth._

_But when she answered, it was serious enough. "Yes," she said. "In the past, any meetings were arranged by our parents, and the only correspondence I got from _you_ was the occasional sporadic letter."_

"_Because _your_ letters weren't sporadic at all," he shot back, and immediately regretted it. He'd responded to her comment as he'd have responded to Al or Rose. He glanced at her, horrified that he'd offended her, but to his great surprise, she laughed. _

"_I suppose I deserved that," she said with a grin. After a moment's bewildered hesitation, Scorpius grinned back. "My _point_, however, was that your desire for a face to face meeting seemed rather sudden. The Bonding is still three years away, after all." Scorpius shrugged and tried to remain casual._

"_Three years looks a lot closer this side of graduation," he pointed out. "And you and I have never really tried to get to know one another. I'd like to rectify that." _

_He watched her carefully as she considered her answer. In truth, he had a duel purpose in asking for the meeting. One was just what he'd said. But the other . . . the other was a little more complicated, and involved the fact that for the past week he'd been home, he'd begun to show a tendency to break things whenever he let himself think about Rose Weasley. _

_The very thought of her still made his blood boil, and he needed to take a more active role in forgetting about her. So he'd decided to bring Honoria into the picture, and look at her far more seriously as the woman he would be marrying in four years' time. _

_In all the time he had known her, all the letters exchanged, all the childhood meetings, all the times he'd thought of her, Scorpius had never thought of Honoria as someone he could talk to, someone with the potential to become a friend. But over the course of the afternoon and a single ongoing conversation with her, Scorpius began to regret not getting to know her sooner. She was quick-witted and clever, and she had a sense of humor that allowed him to banter with her. Over the course of their meeting, Scorpius was surprised to find that he actually _wanted_ to get to know her, for her own sake, and not just as someone to take his mind off of Rose Weasley._

_They spoke of many things that first afternoon, such as where their lives were headed now that they were done with school. Honoria told him that she was off to become a research assistant in Enchantment Development and Efficacy, a job that, she assured him, "sounds far more impressive than it actually is." When he made a vague noise of protest, not really knowing where he planned on taking it, she laughed and cut him off. "No, it does, Scorpius," she said. "It's tedious, meticulous, gritty work, the kind of research that everyone wants to have been done, but nobody actually wants to do."_

"_And you do?" he asked, curious in spite of himself. _

"_I personally find it fascinating," she said. "We study the intricacies of spellwork, what exactly happens between the moment an incantation is said and the moment the effects of the spell actually take place. We study why spells work differently in different places or for different people. It's not glamorous. It's not flashy. But it's necessary work, and I'm good at it and I enjoy it." _

_When she asked him what he planned to do, she managed to get out of him – completely by accident – what he'd spent two years hiding from everyone – that he'd applied for the Auror program and was waiting to hear back from them, even though he'd told everyone that he was going into teaching. _

"_Why the cover?" she asked him after swearing to keep his secret. He glanced at her before replying, but she seemed genuinely interested._

"_My best friend is the director's son," he said. "I don't want anyone to think I got in on anything other than my own merit. And . . ." He paused because he was reluctant to admit the other half of it, but after a moment, he went on resolutely, "And if I can't get in on that, I don't want anyone to know I tried."_

"_Ah," she said softly. "There it is, then."_

"_What?" he asked._

"_Your weakness. I was wondering when I'd find it." At his still somewhat puzzled glance she went on, "You don't want people to see you fail," she said simply. "So if there's a chance they might, you'd rather not risk anything at all."_

_Slightly stunned at the way she'd nailed his personality so on the head, he asked, "What's your weakness, then?"_

"_I _should_ make you figure it out for yourself," she said with a small smile. "But I'll give you the answer, just this once. I'm an incredibly selfish person." He must have looked skeptical at that, because her next words were to defend the statement. "I am," she insisted, almost apologetically. "I think of myself and what I want first and foremost in almost every decision that I make. I want to please the people that I care about, but if doing so conflicts directly with my own happiness, I'm more likely to go with the choice that makes me happy." Scorpius looked at her in mild wonderment, but she was absolutely in earnest. Scorpius looked away, trying to master the sudden angry emotion that had come over him as he realized that Rose Weasley seemed to fit Honoria's description, too._

"_And would you lie to me, if it furthered your own happiness?" he asked softly. _

"_No," she said simply. "For blunt honesty is also a besetting sin, and if I should ever have to choose my happiness over yours, I shall at least be open about it. Though you may not think it a blessing at the time." Scorpius gave a grim sort of smile._

"_Then your selfishness does not seem to be too terrible a setback," he said. She nodded._

"_I do genuinely try not to hurt others," she said. "But the motto I live by is trust your heart, above all else, even logic or common sense if you must. You should try it," she said, looking at him sidelong. He gave a humorless smile._

"_I'm a Ravenclaw," he told her. "Ignoring logic and common sense doesn't come naturally to me."_

"_Which is why I think you should try it rather more often," she said gently, and managed to coax a real, if somewhat subdued, smile out of him._

"_Honoria," he said, offering her his hand. "I think you and I shall suit extremely well. Before this afternoon, I wasn't certain. But now I am, and so I would like to ask you what may seem like a pointless question." She looked up at him expectantly and somewhat puzzled. "Will you marry me?" _

_She stared at him a moment before she gave a small laugh, shaking her head. "Scorpius Malfoy," she said, putting her hand in his. "You are one of the most interesting men I have ever met, but I think you are right in saying that we shall suit extremely. And so, yes. I think I can agree to marry you. With a willing heart, believe it or not."_

_They shared a smile as Scorpius tucked her hand under his arm and they continued their walk, but the tumble of emotions in his mind was actually far more muddled than his outward countenance let on. _

_He had done it. He had officially put Rose Weasley behind him. And damn it, he _would_ be happy without her! He didn't need her, not when he had someone else who _did_ care about him, who wouldn't lie to him, and he was going to marry her. As far as he was concerned, he was done with Rose Weasley. Forever._

_OOO  
_

Since the time he'd been old enough to understand what his Bonding would mean, he had imagined many different emotions being at the forefront of his mind when that day came. Resignation had never been one of them. Nor had sadness.

But as he stood with his parents by the chapel entrance and greeted the guests as they entered, those were the only emotions Scorpius felt. Not nervousness, not anticipation, just a weary resignation and a deep, unmoveable sadness. Still, for the sake of appearances, as well as his parents, he put a smile on his face and tried to be amiable at the very least.

It was some comfort that he knew he didn't have a choice. He wasn't giving up the chance to be with Rose, since it was a chance that wasn't available to him in the first place. And he knew that the sadness would fade, in time. And so he tried to believe that that was enough. So he smiled and shook hands and tried not to think beyond the moment.

He was also trying very hard not to think of Rose or to replay her words to Al in his head, but he wasn't having much luck, especially not when her father walked through the chapel doors.

As Scorpius' mentor and closest advisor of the past three years, Ron Weasley had, much to Scorpius' father's dismay, been invited to the Bonding, and, as a matter of courtesy, the invitation had been extended to his family as well.

Scorpius stiffened immediately at the sight of them, for if he came face to face with Rose here, now, he doubted very much his ability to get through the day as planned. Marrying someone else while the woman he loved was miles and miles away, out of sight and reach, was one thing. Marrying someone else while the woman he loved sat mere feet away was quite another.

But to his immense relief – and, strangely, to his immense disappointment as well – Ron Weasley had brought only his wife and son with him. Rose was nowhere in sight. He should have been relieved, but he wasn't. He was, however, able to relax slightly as he shook Auror Weasley's hand, which was more than he could say for his father beside him.

But as he thanked the older man for coming, he noted that his mentor's eyes, normally bright and joking, seemed darker, and he carried about him the same air of sadness that Scorpius did. Also, as their eyes met, it seemed to Scorpius that he was being searched, measured in a way that he never had before, which made him wonder just how much Rose's father knew.

Something passed between them, at the very least, but in a moment it was gone, and Auror Weasley moved past Scorpius to shake hands with Scorpius' father, both of them suddenly very stiff and formal.

Scorpius felt a stirring of amusement at this, and was glad of the emotion, for it was one of the few light-hearted ones he'd experienced in the last two weeks.

With a genuine smile on his face, he turned to greet the next guest and found himself very suddenly face to face with Al. His smile vanished. He had not spoken to Al since the Auror reception, and Al did not know that he had overheard the conversation with Rose.

The two both seemed aware that something ought to be said, but neither of them seemed to be able to come up with anything, so they just looked at each other in tense silence.

"I – thank you for coming," Scorpius finally said, softly, trying to put as much sincerity in his words as possible.

Al was spared having to respond by an interruption in the form of Scorpius' fiancé, looking resplendent in white and silver dress robes, with her most winning smile on her face. "I'm so sorry to interrupt," she said warmly. "But I really must speak with Scorpius for a moment." Scorpius looked at her, mildly worried and confused, asking a question with his eyes alone. "It's important," she said then, and though her smile never wavered, her eyes bespoke urgency.

So, with an apologetic nod to Al and the guests behind him, Scorpius said, "Excuse me, please," and indicated that Honoria should lead the way. He caught his father's eye apologetically, afraid for a moment that he might scold. But all he did was glance significantly at his watch and nod.

Honoria led him to a small room in the back of the church and ushered him in. As she closed the door behind them, he started to ask what was wrong, but she didn't give him the chance; as soon as the door was shut, she whirled and addressed him rapidly.

"Scorpius, is this really what you want?" she asked breathlessly. Scorpius stared at her, for that had not been among the questions he'd been expecting. He hadn't even begun to formulate a reply when she continued, in the same breathless tone. "Because if it is, that's fine," she said. "If it is, then we'll turn around and go into that chapel and be Bonded, and in a year we'll marry, and I'll never say any of this again. But I don't think this is what you want." She paused then, looking up at him almost fearfully, before saying haltingly, "And I know it isn't what I want."

Scorpius stared at her, trying to process all this, well aware that he needed to be saying something. "What exactly are you saying?" he asked carefully, forcing himself to remain calm and not read anything into her words.

"I'm saying that I don't love you," she replied softly, and Rose's words came unbidden into his mind. _Arranged marriages aren't about _love_ . . . they're about _respect_ . . . _"I'm sorry, but it's the truth," Honoria was continuing in a breathless rush, as if she had to get it out before she lost the nerve. "I have _tried_ to love you. And then I stopped trying, in the hopes that that would summon the emotion, but I believe that it happens or it doesn't, and that if it does, you _know_ it. And Scorpius, while I care about you deeply, and have all the respect for you in the world, I don't love you. And I doubt very much that you love me, and that makes all this just a little bit wrong."

He looked up sharply at her words, fearful for a moment that she knew, somehow, that Rose was coming into it, that all this was just her way of trying to help him save face. But no, there was nothing accusatory in her manner; if anything, she looked worried at what he might think of her. She was biting her bottom lip and wringing her hand.

Hope was rising in his chest, for the first time in two weeks, but he pushed it stubbornly down and refused to give in. "I made a promise to you," he said carefully. "I made it when I was eleven, not fully understanding it, and I made it again when I was seventeen, knowing exactly what it meant –"

"And I appreciate the fact that you want to keep that promise," she interrupted earnestly. "Really, I do. It's commendable and admirable, and it proves beyond a doubt something I've known for a very long time – that you are the better person in this match. But getting married for the sake of keeping a promise?" She looked up at him entreatingly, crossing the room and taking his hands. "I told you once that I was a very selfish person. And I want _love_, Scorpius. Not respect, not caring, _love_. Passionate, insane, incomprehensible love. I want to lose my head and do crazy things, all in the name of some guy I know I can't live without. This isn't that, much as I wish it could be. But I'm only twenty-one. I'm not willing to say I'm never going to find it. I want to find the person I'm _supposed_ to be with. I want _you_ to find that person. Don't you?"

Scorpius didn't answer for a long time. His mind was churning, and he was trying to force himself to form coherent thoughts. "Why are you telling me all this now?" he finally asked. Honoria gave a grim smile.

"You mean, thirty minutes before the ceremony as opposed to anytime in the past month or year or ten years?"

Scorpius nodded. "Something like that, yeah?" To which she sighed heavily and looked away.

"Because I promised you that if I were ever to choose my happiness over yours, I'd be honest about it. And up until about twenty minutes ago, I really thought I could do this. I really thought this could be enough. But about ten minutes ago, I knew it could never be, and then it occurred to me that I probably wouldn't be choosing my happiness over yours, not really." She caught his eyes then, and wouldn't let him look away. "Answer me one thing, Scorpius. And don't think about your response or worry about what people are going to think if they hear. For once in your life, ignore your head and answer this with your heart: Do you _want_ to marry me?"

For about ten seconds, Scorpius thought desperately of ways to wriggle out of answering. A multitude of possible non-answers flowed through his head in rapid succession, and he had even opened his mouth to utter one of them, but before he could, Al's voice, like Rose's had not long ago, had sprung unbidden into his mind.

_You can choose to do what's _expected_ of you, or you can choose to do what you _want_ to do . . . The Hat takes your choice into consideration . . . _

He had always been quick to dismiss that part of the dream out of hand, because it had seemed so nonsensical, but now, as he stood in that room with Honoria, he began to slowly realize that maybe there had been something important hidden in the nonsense all along.

What was expected of him or what he wanted. Following his family's tradition or forming his own. Trusting his head or his heart. The green door or the blue. Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Honoria or . . . someone else. It was all connected, all linked together. When he was eleven, the choice had seemed easy, because it had been pretty much out of his control. But ten years later, the choice was very much in his hands, and it didn't seem nearly so easy now.

Figuring out what he wanted wasn't the problem. He _knew_ what he wanted. He _wanted_ to say no, to end this and turn his back on the Bonding, to go find Rose Weasley and hold her tight to him, kiss her, spend the rest of his life with her —

"Scorpius," Honoria interrupted somewhat urgently, her eyes flicking to the closed door. "Scorpius, _do you want to marry me_?"

"No!"

He spoke without thinking, and once the word had been uttered, he had to stop himself from looking around to find who had spoken. But the truth was inescapable and irreversible. The urgency or her question and the intensity of the situation had forced him to give over to emotion, to react without thinking. But as he looked at Honoria, horrified, only to find her beaming up at him, he slowly began to realize that maybe that had been the point.

"Good for you," she said softly before he'd really had a chance to recover. "I don't really want to marry you either."

Scorpius let out a shaky laugh, and the tension in the room evaporated almost instantly. "So what do we do?" he asked. "Do we just go out there and tell them to go home, that's it's over?" Honoria shook her head almost immediately.

"Ten minutes before the Ceremony we've spent ten years preparing for? I don't see my parents responding well to that, do you?"

"I don't see my parents responding well to it in any circumstance," Scorpius said honestly.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Nor do I. This is only going to work if one of us gets jilted, and to be honest, Scorpius, it can't be me."

A few minutes later, hiding the smile on his face, Scorpius returned to where his parents stood waiting at the rear of the chapel.

"And may I ask what that was about?" Draco asked quietly, not looking at Scorpius.

"She just had a quick question about after," Scorpius said casually, also staring straight ahead. His father slowly arched one eyebrow and glanced at his son.

"She called you over to a private conversation to discuss the reception?" he asked, a hint of skepticism sneaking into his voice. Scorpius shrugged.

"Who knows what's going through her mind?" he asked, matching his father's calm tone. "I thought it best just to answer her question and try to set her at ease. I'm sure she's understandably jittery about . . . details."

He was surprised at how well and easily the words dropped from his mouth, but he refused to let it show. After one more long, calculating look, Draco Malfoy looked away, offered his arm to his wife, and escorted her into the chapel.

And a few moments after that, without much recollection as to how he'd gotten there, he was standing at the front of the chapel, on one side of a square stone alter, and Honoria was coming toward him on her father's arm.

For one terrifying moment, panic reared up in him as the enormity of what was about to happen hit him, but then Honoria caught his eye and smiled, and he forced himself to relax.

As they clasped hands over a basin of water while the officiator addressed all those assembled, Scorpius found himself unable to listen, too caught up in watching Honoria more closely than he could ever remember watching anyone else, waiting for the sign that she was about to act, even though she'd assured him that he wouldn't have to do anything apart from look shocked and grief-stricken.

As the officiator droned on, sprinkling herbs into the basin and muttering ceaselessly under his breath, Scorpius grew more and more tense, worried that Honoria had changed her mind, or that some last minute hesitation had seized her, rendering her unable to act until it was too late, until they were already, unchangeably Bonded.

But just as these worried began to take root and grow in his mind, Honoria gave his hand an almost imperceptible squeeze before stiffening visibly and snatching her hand away from him, small flakes of dried herbs floating lazily down to the water. Their movement drew his gaze for the briefest of moments; when he looked back up at Honoria, trying to school his features into an expression of worry and confusion, she had gone pale, her face white and anguished.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and _he_ almost believed her. She shook her head as her face crumpled. "I can't do this!" she cried, and before anyone had time to realize what was happened, she had turned on the spot and fled the chapel, her long robes billowing out behind her.

Elation filled him for the briefest of moments before he forced it away, forced himself to act the way he would be expected to act.

"Honoria!" he shouted, reaching his hand out after her. "Honoria, wait!" And then he, likewise, took off, running out of the chapel in pursuit just as the first of the guests came out of their shock enough to begin to react.

He was breathing hard by the time he caught her, waiting patiently for him out of sight in a small copse of trees. "It's not too late to go back," was the first thing he said, between breaths of air. She shook her head even as she smiled.

"No, it's far too late to go back, Scorpius." He nodded.

"You're sure you don't mind facing your parents?" he asked. She dismissed this notion almost before it had been fully voiced.

"I already told you not to worry about any of that," she said sternly. "You've got your own parents to worry about. I can handle mine." There was a long silence then, as they both wondered what to say, pondering the full implications of what they'd just done.

"In this moment," Scorpius said seriously, "I would be more willing to marry you than I have ever been before."

"Willing, though," she said with a soft smile. "That's the key. Willing, not wanting. Content, not happy. Thank you for freeing me, Scorpius."

"No," he said earnestly with a shake of his head. "Thank _you_, Honoria. For doing what I wasn't brave enough to do." It took her a moment to fully comprehend what he meant, but he knew the moment she had. She gasped and stared at him, her brow furrowed slightly.

"You've already found her, haven't you?" she breathed. At his hesitant but no less certain nod, she punched him lightly on the arm. "Scorpius Malfoy–" she said, her tone accusing.

"There were a lot of reasons," he said immediately. "We both made poor choices."

"Well, you go fix them, right now," she said sternly. He had to smile.

"I will," he said, and then he embraced her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead before she Disapparated with a pop.

He tried to reenter the chapel looking as lost and numb and distressed as he imagined he would have been had Honoria sprung this on him out of the blue, and he thought his shocked and numb delivery of, "I couldn't stop her. I couldn't catch her. She's gone," had most of the extremely bewildered guests convinced, but he could feel his father's eyes upon him and Al's eyes upon him, and he had the uneasy feeling that they had somehow seen through what had just happened.

His words threw the entire chapel into far greater confusion than it had been in even moments before, and amid the loud torrent of chaos, he saw the Ridgetons approaching his father, and before he'd even truly had time to register the fact that he didn't want to be around for this conversation, his mother was at his elbow, whispering, "Why don't you go home, Scorpius? Your father and I will handle things here."

He nodded and slipped through the thronging crowd, counting on the confusion to hide his exit, purposefully not looking toward the corner where Al had been sitting.

He had almost made it out the back entrance when someone softly called his name, and he realized belatedly that he had allowed his true emotions to surface. Gritting his teeth, he turned to face the speaker, preparing his back-pedaling even as he did so, expecting to see his father or Al behind him.

But instead it was Auror Weasley, looking very much as if he wanted to be discovered as little as Scorpius did. Before Scorpius had had time to do more than wonder what his mentor wanted, he was speaking once more in a very soft murmur. "I left her sitting in the backyard," he said, almost inaudibly. "In front of the rose garden."

He was gone before Scorpius had processed the full meaning of his words. But he had no sooner done so than he found his mind suddenly and clearly made up. With a new, overwhelming sense of purpose, he exited the small chapel, turned on the spot, and thought of Rose.

OOO

"_What the hell did you do to her?"_

_Scorpius jumped slightly at the sound of the angry voice, pressing too hard with his quill and leaving a spattering of ink across the words he'd already written. Frowning, he looked up into the angry face of his best friend, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway of his bedroom. "May I ask how you gained entry to my house?" Scorpius asked as he tried to clean up his letter with his wand._

"_Your mother likes me," Al said shortly. "Now would you mind answering my question?" Scorpius leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. _

"_What did I do to whom?" _

"_To Rose!" At the very mention of her name, Scorpius was assaulted by a barrage of painful, still raw memories, but he forced down his sudden choking anger, for he had no desire to make Al any more suspicious than he clearly already was. _

"_What makes you think I did anything to her?" he asked stiffly, and was proud of the fact that only a hint of an edge made it into her voice. "Did she say something?"_

"_She's gone!" Al thundered, and Scorpius sat up straight, staring at Al._

"_What do you mean, she's 'gone'?" he asked. "Where is she?"_

"_She's in Russia," Al said, glaring at Scorpius as though this was all his fault. "With Ivanna Krum. They're going on a World Tour. An extended Tour. For two years. Or more." Scorpius' mind was whirling, but he forced his face to hold the same mildly interested expression. _

"_And what makes you think I had anything to do with it?" he asked pointedly. Al glared._

"_Because they left two days ago, Scorpius, and I found out about it _this morning_. Apparently, Ivanna's been asking Rose to go for months, and Rose has always turned her down, until the invitation came the day after graduation. _Then_ she was more than willing to accept. Aunt Hermione said she left in quite a rush. Couldn't wait to get away."_

"_And you think it was me she was trying to get away from," he said stonily, starting to get a little angry with Al's assumptions. _

"_I know she was trying to get away from something. Rose doesn't act on impulse–"_

"_And how do you know this was an impulse?" Scorpius demanded. "How do you know she hadn't been planning this for a while and just not told anyone?" If possible, Al's face grew even darker as he held Scorpius' gaze._

"_Funny you should ask that, actually," he said then, but it didn't sound like he'd found anything less funny in his life. "I have something for you. From my father." There was a definite stony quality to Al's voice, and Scorpius was immediately wary, all thoughts of Rose chased from his mind. Al pulled an official-looking parchment envelope from inside his robes. "Said he'd save the owl the trip since I was coming here anyway."_

"_What – what is that?" Scorpius asked, trying to keep his voice even._

"_It's your acceptance letter," Al said angrily, throwing it down onto Scorpius' desktop. Scorpius stared at it, heart pounding. "To the program I didn't know you'd applied for." _

_With Al's words, everything suddenly clicked into place, and instead of ripping open the envelope, as he desperately wanted to do, Scorpius looked back up at his best friend._

"_Damn it, Al, is that what's got your wand in a knot?" he demanded. "That I didn't tell you I'd applied to the Auror program?"_

"_Yes!" Al shouted, then immediately turned, hands in his hair, and took a deep breath. "No," he said on the exhale, softer but no less upset. "It's just – this isn't a decision you make on a whim. This takes planning, and preparation, and – I didn't know," he finished softly, sinking down onto Scorpius' bed. Scorpius leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes._

"_I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want people to know I'd applied if I didn't get in," he said softly. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want anyone to think I'd gotten in on anything other than my own merit. I needed to do this on my own." He chanced a look at Al then. Al didn't look angry anymore, which Scorpius took as a good sign. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just – I _did _ apply to be a teacher, it's my back-up. I didn't lie to you, I just–"_

"_A lie of omission is still a lie, Scorpius," Al broke in quietly, not looking at him. Scorpius searched for something to say, some apology to make, but Al glanced up long enough to see, and, agitated, waved the unformed words way. "I'm not mad at you over this; I think the fact that you're going to be an Auror is brilliant, and it makes perfect sense. I just – I can't help but wonder if there's anything else you've conveniently forgotten to tell me." _

_Scorpius avoided meeting Al's eyes for the longest time he could. He kept his eyes on his desk instead, but his half-finished letter to Honoria was sitting there, impossible to ignore, and so it wasn't very much longer that he looked up, his eyes locking with his best friend's. _

_It was the perfect opening, and he knew it, and he also knew that if he didn't tell Al about the Bonding and Honoria now, Al would never forgive him. But before he could say anything, Al spoke again. "What happened with Rose, Scorpius? Did you ever tell her?"_

_There was nothing accusatory in the words, not anymore, but Scorpius shut his eyes against them all the same, cursing himself and Rose alike as he answered, lying by omission yet again, but for completely different reasons. "Rose and I were never going to work, Al," he said softly. "It took me too long to realize that, but that's the way it is. We were never going to work. There are a lot of different reasons why, but–"_

"_Like what?" Al asked, pointed, blunt. And Scorpius knew the time had come._

"_Like the last thing I've kept from you," he said softly, forcing himself to meet Al's gaze. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, before saying the words aloud, finally. "I should have told you about this a long time ago, Al. About something that's going to happen in a few years," he said as Al crossed his arms and waited. "Her name is Honoria." _

* * *

To be continued. Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Note from the Author: Okay, so, this would have been up a lot sooner, but Draco was giving me trouble. As will be obvious soon enough, he really didn't want to talk about it, not to me or to Scorpius. Oi.

Last chapter! Al's point of the triangle will be up eventually, in a quite different format, and that's where you'll get the scenes you've been asking for! :)

Scenes in italics are scenes from the past.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own any of it, never have, and most likely never will.

* * *

_Fighting Briars - Chapter Four_

The heady scent of roses was the first thing he became aware of as he appeared in a lane just in front of a small cottage. Scorpius had never seen or been to Rose's house before, but as he gazed at the small, picturesque cottage, he was struck by two things. First, how different it was from his own family home, and second, how well it suited her.

_This is a place you come home to_, he thought as he stood there, taking it all in. Slowly, he made his way around the small house, reveling in all the little details, like the climbing ivy and the curtains in all the windows. He couldn't keep a smile from his face, either, and some part of him wondered what on earth was wrong, but deep down, he knew that nothing was. Everything was actually _right _for the first time in a very long time.

She was sitting right where her father had said she would be, facing away from him, into the wild tangle of roses climbing over a white archway that led further into the cottage's gardens. She sat perfectly still where she was, not shifting, not moving, and if he hadn't spent seven years watching her do the same thing so often, he would have wondered if she was all right.

He stood and watched her for a long time as the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon, bathing the gardens in a soft golden light. He had been in a rush before, prodded on by an unrelenting sense of urgency, but now that he was here, so close to her, there was no need to hurry. He had all the time in the world.

"Your father said I might find you here." He spoke softly, pitching his voice just loud enough to carry to where she sat. There was one long moment of stillness after his words before she turned, slowly, where she sat.

Seeing her face, frowning slightly as she tried to make out his features against the setting sun, triggered something in him, and he _knew_, more powerfully than he had ever known anything, that he had made the right choice. Being here was right, what he had done was right.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper.

"At the moment?" he asked. "Standing in your garden, waiting to be invited to sit down." He watched as she closed her eyes and shook her head, looking slightly pained, and it was with a pang that he noticed the lines of sadness etched in her face, lines that hadn't been there at the summer's start.

"You're supposed to be getting Bonded," she said, and there was a tremor in her voice, as though the words cost her something dear.

Slowly, he came toward her then, and couldn't keep himself from smiling as she turned quickly away at his approach. Nothing she did now could keep him from his purpose. He knew the truth, and he knew why he had come, and he didn't intend to leave until he'd accomplished what he'd set out to accomplish.

"Well," he said slowly as he sat beside her on the bench, facing the opposite direction, toward the house."That didn't end up working out quite as was originally planned." The slight stiffening of her body as his skin came so close to hers didn't escape him, nor did the goosebumps now prominent on the arm nearest him. She shook her head against his words, not looking at him, and he smiled once more before taking pity on her. "I got jilted," he said heavily, sighing for good measure.

It took a moment for his words to register. But once they had, she turned her head, frowning, look at him. He kept his eyes trained innocently and resolutely forward, focusing on the open window of a gable of the house in front of him, a pseudo-regretful look on his face. But as her eyes narrowed, the smile he couldn't seem to keep away betrayed him.

"_You_ got jilted?" she repeated, her skepticism clear, even with only those three words. He glanced sideways at her, and took in both her raised eyebrow and the disbelief in her voice.

"I did!" he insisted, mastering the urge to laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to be insulted at her disbelief. Her gaze didn't waver for an instant. "Well, I didn't say it wasn't a carefully planned and agreed-upon jilting," he finally said. She shook her head, just like she used to when they were at school and she felt he and Al were behaving foolishly. She turned back to the roses, determined, it seemed, to ignore him.

It was a game they had perfected in their years at school together, and one that Scorpius was more than willing to play, not only because he was certain of his ability to win, but because it skipped over the past three years and everything that had happened. The game sent them back to a simpler time, and so Scorpius was more than willing to play, if that was what Rose wanted.

"Merlin, but she was amazing," he said, turning back to the house. Beside him, Rose turned once more to him, responding exactly the way he had hoped. He glanced at her and said, "She was. Impressive really. _I_ couldn't have done it half so well," being deliberately vague because he knew it would irritate her.

"Done _what_?" Rose asked in the exasperated tone Scorpius had been hoping for, and he smiled smugly, knowing he'd won the first round. From the look on her face, Rose knew it, too.

"I told you," he said slowly, patiently. "I got jilted. In rather a spectacular manner. They'll be talking about it for years, I expect." To his utter delight, Rose glared at him and growled his name.

He laughed then, because he couldn't help it, couldn't keep it in anymore. He grasped the edge of the bench, leaned back, and laughed. It felt so good to laugh again! He couldn't remember the last time he really had, the last time he'd been able to let go enough. He felt so light, lighter than he had in three years. For the first time since their disastrous conversation by the lake, he felt free, like a bird let loose from its cage. Everything was new, everything was wonderful, and he felt as if he was experiencing every positive emotion for the first time.

He told her what had happened, told her of Honoria's concerns and her plan, told her that Honoria didn't love him, and he made it plain that he certainly didn't love her. He told her how she had called it off, and how she had jilted him, to let him save face. He told her all of it, stringing her along, catching her up in the story against her will, and delighting anew every time he caught her hanging on his every word.

When he had almost reached the end of his story, Rose was determinedly not looking at him. She was instead watching the progress of one bobbing rose very intently. Suppressing a chuckle, Scorpius kept his eyes on her, waited for her to give in. When she refused, he did chuckle, softly, before reaching over and running his fingers lightly over her arm.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she jerked back, meeting his eyes almost inadvertently.

"I caught up with her outside the chapel," he whispered, enjoying himself probably more than he should have. "I thanked her for doing what I was too afraid to do, and I let her go. My mother sent me home. I came here. And that's the story."

He was mere inches away from her now, and she seemed incapable of looking away from him, and if he was honest with himself, he knew that he was scarcely more able to look away from her. He was intensely aware of everything about her, more in tune with her in that moment than he could ever remember being in his life. He could count every freckle spattered across her nose, hear every soft breath. He could feel her trembling slightly under his touch, fully aware that this was the first time they had physically, meaningfully touched since their encounter on the Hogwarts Express so long ago.

After a long, painfully intense moment, she closed her eyes and swallowed, clearly trying to regain the composure he had worked so hard to rob from her. "But what are you doing _here_, Scorpius?" she finally asked.

"You always used to do that," he said vaguely as he debated how to best use the upper hand he had gained. "Used to drive me crazy because I could never figure out why."

"What?" she breathed, opening her eyes, puzzled. The corner of his mouth rose once more.

"Ask questions you already know the answer to," he whispered, inching his head closer to hers. He heard her breath catch in her throat. "Luckily, I know how to punish you."

"Do you?" she breathed. He nodded.

"I'm not going to answer your question."

And then he had closed the distance between them and was kissing her. With one hand guiding her face to his and the other at the small of her back, he kissed her the way he had dreamed of kissing Rose Weasley since he was fifteen years old. And when her arms came up to twine around his neck, when she responded to his kisses with kisses of her own, he was lost.

He had started out deliberately gentle, but the longer the kiss went on, the more intense it became. The first time he had kissed her, he had used it to communicate everything he hadn't known how to say, his anger, his betrayal, his pain. And though this kiss was so vastly different, he still used it the same way. He told her that it was all done, all in the past. Everything that had happened, every hurt, every misunderstanding, it was all done, all forgotten. None of it mattered, not anymore.

When he tasted salt, he pulled back to see that she was looking up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. With a tender smile, he cradled her face gently in his hands, wiping the wetness away, wiping everything away. With a look full of more than he ever would have thought possible, she reached up and caught one of his hands, threading her fingers through his own, pressing a kiss to his palm.

"I never stopped loving you, you know," he whispered. Her eyes fluttered closed at his words, and he never knew he could feel so much for one person. "Even though I was so _angry_ with you, and I wanted to _hate_ you . . . I couldn't. And I couldn't understand why. But after hearing everything you said to Al, I finally did. And I knew you were right, all along." She shook her head slightly. "But I know it doesn't matter anymore, and so now I'm going to ask you straight out something I should have asked you ages ago." Rose opened her eyes and looked into his. "Do you love me?" he whispered.

"You shouldn't do that, you know," Rose said. He frowned slightly, trying not to let his puzzlement and concern show.

"What?" he asked

Rose smiled, and in the instant before it happened, Scorpius knew he had just let her win a round. "Ask questions you already know the answer to." And before he could say another word, she reached up and pulled his face down to hers.

He didn't know how long he stayed there, on that garden bench with her. They sat there, talking and discussing and just being together until the sun had almost left the sky. They talked about all the things that should have been said three years ago, about the things that should have been said since. She asked him about being an Auror and the things he'd learned, and he asked her about her travels and the people she'd met. And they talked about three years ago and about reasons and questions and mistakes. Then they talked about when and how long and why not and what now.

And at the end of it all, they finally came to what Scorpius had really wanted to talk about, since the moment he'd left the chapel and come to this small cottage. "Rose," he said softly, brushing his thumb idly over the knuckles of her hand. "Rose – if the past three years have proven anything, they have proven that there is nothing on this earth that can stop me loving you." She looked up from where her head rested on his shoulder, waiting patiently, and he felt – flustered and somewhat unsure for the first time since he'd left the chapel. "Rose, I –" He stopped, trying to figure out the best way to say what he knew still needed to be said. "It is the tradition for Malfoy men to be married at the age of twenty-one," he said softly, and felt her shift slightly beside him. When he glanced down at her, she was still looking up at him, and she didn't seem shocked or surprised by what he'd said.

"You've never been one for tradition," she said.

"No," he agreed. "But all the more reason to maybe find one to follow. I know it may seem fast, seem like it's rushing, but –"

"It's not," she said softly, before he could. And when she looked up and met his eye, he knew she understood exactly what he meant. "And I will," she finished softly. For a moment, he was confused, not knowing what she meant, and he looked down at her in that confusion, silently asking for an explanation. She raised her eyebrows. "You were asking me to marry you just then, weren't you?"

For the second time that day, Scorpius answered before he'd had time to think about what it was he would say. "Yes," he said forcefully, and the force of the answer took him by surprise. It seemed to take her by surprise, too, for her eyes met his suddenly, slightly startled. "Yes," he said again, softer but with no less conviction, for as he said it, he was incredibly aware that he'd never been more certain of anything in his life. "Unfortunately, I have to play the part of the grieving, jilted groom for a little while, or people might get suspicious, so we'll have to keep it quiet for a little while, but yes. I was – I _am_ asking you to marry me."

She kissed him once then, long and soft. "The people who need to know will know," she said with a smile, dispelling any lingering fear he might have had that she was upset with the arrangement. Then, out of nowhere, she frowned slightly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said with a sigh. "Just . . . I suppose that has to include Al."

Scorpius laughed. "Yes, unfortunately, I'm afraid that can scarcely be avoided."

They sat together in happy, contented silence then, watching night descend around them, and Scorpius wished it might remain so always. But she had reminded him of two tasks that needed to be taken care of immediately, and so, with great regret, he said softly, "I should be getting home." She sighed and nodded.

"Yes," she agreed.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," he promised. "And I'll talk to your father then."

"Why tomorrow?" she asked, a smile playing around her mouth. He took a deep breath.

"Because I have to talk to my father first," he said, trying to steel himself for what would probably be the most uncomfortable confrontation of his life.

Rose walked him to the edge of her property, both of them ignoring the fact that they'd seen Rose's father watching them from the kitchen window, both of them pretending they hadn't noticed him catch Scorpius' eye in knowing suggestion.

They said their goodbyes in the lane, lingering perhaps a little longer than necessary, but eventually Scorpius could put off his departure no longer, so he kissed Rose one last time, and turned on the spot, appearing suddenly on the darkened stoop of his parents' home. Through the ornate glass on the front door, he could see a light spilling out of his father's study.

He slipped through the front door as quietly as he could, trying to make it up the stairs to his room unnoticed, hoping to postpone, even if just for the evening, the inevitable conversation waiting for him in the room down the hall. Unfortunately, he made it only as far as the third stair when his father's voice rang out.

"Scorpius? Could you come in here, please?" Scorpius froze, his foot already on the next step, his face in a grimace, before sighing deeply and turning. He descended the few steps to the landing and walked down the hall to his father's study like a condemned man facing the gallows.

Inside, his father was facing one of the large windows that overlooked the gardens, his face in profile. Taking a deep breath, Scorpius crossed the threshold and stood just beyond the doorway, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yes, Father?" he said hesitantly, waiting for the blow to come.

"I would like," his father started, not moving from the window, "to talk to you about this afternoon's . . . unforeseen events." Predictably, his father's voice was calm and even and betrayed no hint of his true feelings. Scorpius swallowed his apprehension and tried to respond as evenly.

"This afternoon's events were –"

"Planned between yourself and Miss Ridgeton," his father broke in, and then he turned to face his son, taking everything in with a gaze as steady and even as his voice.

Scorpius looked up in slight surprise, then down again quickly, carefully forming his response. "It was Honoria's wish that –"

"I am perfectly aware who orchestrated the change, Scorpius," his father said, cutting him off with ease. Scorpius bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making a hasty retort. "But I do not believe you can say that it was only Honoria's wish."

Scorpius kept his eyes carefully trained on the carpet at his father's feet. "I was fully prepared to go through with the ceremony, sir," he said quietly.

"I know," his father said, and the tone in his voice was unreadable. "That's what I find interesting." The comment startled Scorpius into looking up and meeting his father's gaze unintentionally.

"Sir –?" he asked cautiously.

"Rose Weasley?" his father asked softly, one eyebrow slightly raised. There was no censure in his voice, but neither was there any other emotion besides, somewhat bizarrely, mild curiosity.

"How did you –?" Scorpius started, concern, confusion, and mild panic drawing the question out of him.

"Her parents," he replied, crossing to his desk to hold up a creased piece of parchment, "sent an owl. Thought we might like to know where you were. But I didn't need the owl, Scorpius. I've been waiting, waiting for you to say something. The arrangement was that the match could be negated by either party at any time. I _waited_ for you to say something, but you never did." Draco Malfoy beheld his son with mild curiosity then, but nothing more. "Thank Merlin for Honoria Ridgeton's cold feet, yes?" he said levelly, but the insinuation was clear.

Scorpius colored and looked away. "It wasn't like that," he said softly but pointedly. His father made some sort of sound, deep in his throat, but Scorpius had no idea what it meant, like he had no idea what any of this conversation had meant, like he had _never_ known. Just _once_, he wanted his father to just come out and _say_ something, instead of speaking in riddles and ambiguities that Scorpius was somehow supposed to be able to decipher! Yet even on this, something this important, he still didn't. "Are you displeased, sir?" Scorpius asked, his frustration finally overcoming him.

Draco Malfoy's eyebrows raised at that, and some level of surprise at his son's outburst showed on his face. "Displeased?" he repeated. "With what, exactly?"

"With anything!" Scorpius said in frustration, feeling his heart pounding in his throat, knowing that there was no way to stop this now. "With any decision I've made in the past eleven years of my life!" He looked at his father carefully, imploringly, searching desperately for any hint of any emotion that might give him some clue into his father's thoughts. Draco beheld his son with the same level, even gaze that he always used. "Before I left for Hogwarts, you told me to remember that I was a Malfoy," Scorpius said, almost pleading, crossing the room to stand directly in front of his father's large desk. "But I have spent my life since then ignoring _everything_, every standard that Malfoys have stood for for generations, and I want to know your opinion on _any _of the choices I have made!"

Draco Malfoy did not answer his son for a very long time. Instead, he stood, half in shadow, frowning down at the carpet of his study. Those moments were the longest of Scorpius' life, as he stood, tensed, waiting for his father to respond to his angry outburst, growing more and more worried with every moment that passed, with every additional moment that his father needed to decide what his response would be.

"First of all," he said slowly when he finally spoke, "Let us clarify one point. You have not so much ignored Malfoy traditions as trampled them into the ground, leaving them practically unrecognizable in your wake." Scorpius flushed, but there was no time to dispute the point, for his father had barely paused before continuing. "You were not in the Malfoy house, you did not have the Malfoy friends, you did not choose the Malfoy profession, and now you have done away with the Malfoy marriage. Standards that your ancestors spent lifetimes establishing, _you_ have destroyed in a matter of years. You have disgraced the traditions of the Malfoy family through utter indifference, which is, in many ways, far worse than if you had treated them with open hostility. Your forebears would be disgusted."

By this point, Scorpius was staring at the carpet without blinking, unable to swallow, unable to move. His father's voice had grown more and more intense as the speech had worn on, laced with a quality Scorpius had never heard there before, but which filled him with hot dread all the same. This was it. He had crossed the line, finally pushed his father to the limit he was certain he should have reached years ago. Rose was what his father could no longer ignore, and in another moment he'd be disowned, thrown out of his house, left to the mercy of the Auror program and Rose's family, hoping he could find his own way in the world. He braced himself for the blow.

"If your grandfather could see you now, he would disown you on the spot," his father said forcefully. "And I can give you no higher praise than that."

The silence in the room rang as Scorpius stood, tensed and waiting for a blow that never came. When he realized what his father had said, his head snapped up. "What?" he asked, meeting his father's eye, shocked. Draco Malfoy sighed and turned toward the window, his face lined and troubled for the first time in Scorpius' memory.

"I know it has – not been easy for you, Scorpius," he said softly. "Being my son. I have not made it easy. This has been . . . both deliberate and unavoidable. I am – not proud of the choices I made in the past. I knew at the age of eighteen that I would spend the rest of my life atoning for them, and I was prepared to do so. It was no more than I deserved, the consequences my actions had earned. But you –" He closed his eyes for a moment then, pained. Scorpius stood where he was, frozen in place, afraid to move for fear he would break the spell. He was only just beginning to realize that he did not know the man in front of him, not in the slightest.

"I begged your mother to allow me to negate our arrangement," Draco said, his voice weighted and raw. "She refused. And when you were born, I – you can have no idea the distress I felt. I knew you would spend your life paying for my mistakes. The only solution I could see was to distance myself from you, and hope that, in so doing, I was able to spare you from that fate. If I had ever shown that I was proud of you, even just to you, there are those who would stand in your way for that reason only." As Scorpius listened, he thought of the man at the Auror reception and knew that his father was speaking the truth. _Well, he would have to be, wouldn't he?_ And it was all suddenly falling into place. "And I told you to remember that you were a Malfoy so that when you were met with people who treated you with contempt and hostility you had never earned, you would know that you were never to blame."

Draco Malfoy's voice broke slightly, almost unperceptibly, on his last words, but Scorpius heard it. For a long while, he stood in silence, trying to find the right thing to say.

"Mum was right," he said finally.

"Usually she is," his father said quietly. "To what do you refer?"

"She told me that someday, I'd understand." Something changed in that instant. Scorpius would never fully be able to say what, but something changed. His father met his eyes then, and quickly looked away, his next words coming so softly that Scorpius had to strain to hear them.

"My biggest regret has been not being able to tell you that your life may be the best thing that has ever happened to this family. And you have done it all on your own merit, more than I could ever have believed possible."

"And . . . what about Rose?" Scorpius asked softly when the silence had gone on just long enough to become uncomfortable.

"What about Rose?" his father asked, his usual formal tone returning, but with an edge of amusement now.

"I want to marry her," Scorpius said, soft but serious. He thought he saw his father smile.

"I would certainly hope so," was all he said.

"Would we have your approval?" There was a pause.

"I'm curious," his father said finally. "Were I to say no, what would you do?"

"Marry her anyway," Scorpius said immediately. "But I should like to have your approval." There was a longer pause then, but when his father finally spoke, Scorpius was certain of the smile.

"Rose Weasley," he said softly, shaking his head slightly. He looked over his shoulder at Scorpius, who stood holding his breath, waiting for his reply. "If she's anything like her parents," he said, on his way out of the room, "your life will never be dull." And then he was gone.

Scorpius stared at the place where his father had been, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

That night, he dreamed of a hallway in a chapel that opened out onto a maze of thorns and briars. As he stood before the entrance, he steeled himself for the battle ahead, knowing that the thorns would put up a true fight, and it would take all his wits to make it through unscathed. But just as he was about to enter the maze, he felt a hand close around his wrist. Looking back, startled, he saw Rose Weasley standing behind him, smiling. "Come on," she said, pulling him gently through the archway. As they began to walk, the briars parted and pulled back, leaving a straight and clear path ahead of them.

With a smile, he took Rose's hand, and together, they walked forward to whatever lay ahead, confident in the knowledge that there were no briars left to fight.

* * *

Thanks for reading through to the end! I hope you enjoyed it!

Please review!


End file.
